Lögberg-Heimskringla - 28.01.1983, Page 6

6-WINNIPEG, FÖSTUDAGUR 28. JANÚAR 1983
The Soroptimist Club
of Kópavogur, Iceland
Our club was established on the
4th of June, 1975. Club members are
21. The first meetings were spent in
getting to know one another and dis-
cussing different problems that we
had noticed and experienced in our
small community of 13,500 inhabi-
tants. Before long we all decided on
that the biggest problem of all was
the most urgent need to do something
for sick old people, too sick to be able
to attend meetings and recreation
that our social service offers the
elderly, but not sick enough to be
placed into a hospital. We got in
touch with them by bringing them
books and also brought them pres^
ents at Christmas, and we still do
that. The need for a nursing home for
the elderly was urgent and we
dreamed of doing something about it.
But what could we accomplish only
21 women? In December 1977 we
decided to send a letter to all the
chairmen of 10 clubs and assemblies
in Kópavogur, where we pointed out
our interest for the elderly, asking
them to answer either by a letter or
by calling us. The answers were all
extremely positive and after having
discussed our burning question in
our club we invited all the other
clubbs to a joint meeting on April the
6th, 1978. We the Soroptimist sisters
baked delicious cakes and held a ban-
quet in our meeting place. 33 people
attended that meeting and the at-
mosphere was filled with excitement.
Many speeches were made and we
all agreed that there was no matter
as urgent in Kópavogur as doing
something for the sick oid people.
The conclusion of the meeting was to
go home and consider what had been
said and think about what could be
done and then meet again at the same
place 3 weeks later. A record of the
meeting was written and everyone
that had attended the meeting was
sent a copy. We met again on the
27th of April and again the Sorop-
timist sisters held a banquet. Now
the Red Cross-division of Kópavogur
tabled a proposal that was approved
as follows:
1. The clubs and assemblies that
have attended the meeting today
should established a union to build
a nursing home for the elderly in
Kópavogur.
2. Every club should designate one
representative to a cooperative com-
mittee for that purpose before the lst
of June. The cooperative committee
elects an executive committee from
its group, that takes care of all enter-
prise and preparation in this matter.
The chairman of the cooperative
committee is also chairman of the
executive committee.
3. Our aim from the beginning
should be that the nursing home
becomes a chartered non profitable
organization operated in cooperation
with the municipality and the State's
Health Authorities.
4. In regulation and choice of loca-
tion one should take into consider-
ation that later on there could be built
a residential-home for the elderly in
connection with the nursing home.
5. A representative from the Sor-
optimist club of Kópavogur in the co-
operative committee should invite to
the first meeting of the cooperative
committee.
I was chosen from the Soroptimist
club as a main-representative in the
cooperative committee and our club
president, Elsa G. Vilmundardóttir,
that had directed the 2 meetings a
vice representative.
After that we worked according to
that proposal. There were many
meetings held and on the 17th of
March, 1979, we had our founda-
tion-meeting. Prior to the meeting we
had obtained our charter for our
chartered non profitable organization
for a nursing home for the elderly in
Kópavogur and got formal accept-
ance and confirmation by the presi-
dent of Iceland and the Ministry of
Justice.
The 9 participants in this giant
assignment are: Junior Chamber; The
Kiwanis Club Eldey; The Womens
Association in Kópavogur; The
Church Union in Digranesparish;
The Lions Club of Kópavogur; The
Lions Club Muninn; The Red Cross
division in Kópavogur; The Rotary
Club; The Soroptimist Club.
A board of directors was elected
from the representatives. On the
board there are 5 members. We have
a weekly meeting and sometimes we
have meetings with all the 18 repre-
sentatives. (There are 2 representa-
tives from each club.)
We hired an architect and a design
of a home with 38 beds was approv-
ed, first by the 18 representatives and
then by the Ministry of Health. The
building is 1410m2 with a basement
of 750m2. This is probably the biggest
project the clubs and assemblies have
ever been engaged in in our country.
The 26th of January the first shovel
for the building was taken by the
oldest living person in Kópavogur. It
was a 102 years old woman that did
us the great honour by starting to dig
and she was so anxious that it was
hard to get her to stop digging. (She
is now in the Guinness book of world
records.) We have a saying: "A work
begun, half done" and we were all
optimistic that day. It was a great
long desired moment and the Sorop-
timist sisters invited everyone once
again to a big banquet at the same
place we had had our introducting
meetings.
Amongst our 130 guests were 2
ministers, 3 members of The Parlia-
ment, our mayor in Kópavogur and
members of the town-councii, doc-
tors, director of the old folks home in
Reykjavík, presidents of all clubs in
Kópavogur, our president of the Sor-
optimist Union in Iceland, and
people that have shown this matter
a special interest. We got large sums
of money and presents on that occa-
sion.
How did we finance the project?
We decided to set up a collection
program in the community of Kópa-
vogur.
We started out by having prepared
for us decorative collection-cups.
These cans had a slot on the top in
which the people in Kópavogur could
deposit coins, as much as half a bus
fare a day. The concerned members
in clubs have visited all the 3700
homes in Kópavogur 4 times with
these cans collecting full cans in ex-
change for an empty can for further
collection. Approximately 200 mem-
bers from the clubs have taken part
in this successful team work each tie.
1 or 2 weeks before collecting the
cans we always visited all the same
homes and handed a circular to ex-
plain how things were going and also
that we would be visiting them
again to collect the cans. The reac-
tion of the people was extremely
positive. We thank them all.
All the clubs have given large sums
of money and we are still making
money in many different waýs
within the clubs.
All the preliminary preparation for
the nursing home was done by volun-
teers.
It is not only the citizens of
Kópavogur that have been enthusias-
tic because of this activity and at-
tempt to self-aid. Many clubs and
assemblies outside of Kópavogur
have presented us with different
contributions, e.g. the Soroptimist
Union and all Soroptimist Clubs in
Iceland, the Charitable Institution of
the Church, Relief Funds of Labor
Unions, the Relief Fund for the Elder-
ly at the "Old Folks Home" in Reyk-
javík, which is a non profitable or-
ganization. Some of our greatest art-
ists have given their work and held
an art festival for raising funds for
that purpose. Many business firms
within and outside of Kópavogur
have given generous contributions
but above all the wide unity of all the
thousands of families in Kópavogur
that are concerned, have created the
extraordinary result that we now see
before our eyes. ,
On May 23rd, 1981, the building
was weathertight and everyone that
had supported the matter was invited
to see what we all had achieved.
Over 3000 people attended and many
speeches were made. The president
of Iceland honored us with her pres-
ence. The 9 clubs supplied food and
coffee and coke for all our guests.
By this time the government and
the community had recognized and
approved our operation by giving us
financial aid.
On May 20th, 1982, a part of the
building was ready to be moved in-
to. As we did a year earlier we cele-
brated this long desired moment with
all the people in Kópavogur and other
supporters. Close to 4000 people
visited us on this beautiful day. Just
like the year before all the food and
the beverages were donated to us.
We had a whole afternoon program
with music and speeches and re-
ceived many wonderful presents.
This afternoon the chairman of the
board of the building achievement
formally gave me the masterkey to
the home and I was assigned to the
position as the director of the organ-
ization.
August llth the house was ready
to receive the 38th patient and the
goal of helping old people in our com-
munity had been reached.
There are still many things left to
be done. For example: The basement
of the building is still unfinished.
Amongst other things in the base-
ment we plan to have a large room
for physio-therapy, which is essential
for many of the patients. We are in
great need for an elevator to our base-
ment. A freezingg compartment and
coolers are assigned space in the
basement for storage of food and so
on.
Now all the clubs have started to
figure out ways to raise funds for the
necessary building plans. As an ex-
ample: we in the Soroptimist club are
importing 1 ton of Christmas sweets
from Germany which we plan to sell
before Christmas (we sold half-a-ton
last year) and also we have had
Christmas cards printed that we in-
tend to sell.
1982 is the year that Iceland is dev-
voting to the elderly so we are proud
of our contributions.
This goes to show what can be
accomplished when people have a
mutual interest and aim at the same
goal without ever stopping to con-
sider the effort put into it. Our chair-
man of the board said, that if there
had not been the Soroptimist sisters
on the front in the beginning, this
would never have been
accomplished.
We are all optimistic and we hope
that this is only the beginning of a
greater accomplishment.
Kópavogur, oct. lst.,1982
Hildur Hálfdánardóttir
Manager Director of the
nursing home
. . . a 102-year-old woman did us the great
honour by starting to dig and . . . it was
hard to get her to stop digging