Max Hatzoglou
The West Sunshine Multicultural Senior Citizens Club is back in business after a two-year hiatus from regular meetings due to the uncertainty surrounding the global pandemic.
The club resumed its weekly meet-ups last week.
West Sunshine Multicultural Senior Citizens Centre president Mary Vella said it was pleasing to see everyone coming out and seeing each other again.
“We have hardly been at the centre so the people miss it,” Ms Vella said.
“A lot of people are happy to be back to meet with other people and have a chat.
“It was nice to see smiles on their faces.
“They missed it because they used to look forward to coming to the club before the pandemic hit.
“That was the aim from the first day; to open the club for people to get out of their home, to have somewhere to go, to have conversation and make new friends.”
Ms Vella said the lockdowns were difficult for some of the senior citizens, with mental health issues becoming more prevalent in the community.
“Some of them were depressed,” she said.
“I was a little bit depressed too, going there for the last 42 years and then all of a sudden it shut down, it was very hard.”
Ms Vella said she made calls with committee members and some calls to members during the lockdown to maintain connections.
The centre, established in 1981, is planning on celebrating its 40 year anniversary once restrictions ease after the milestone was missed due to the pandemic .
