Italian Week at Moonya Residential Care in Manjimup

All things Italian were the theme at an Italian Culture Week at Baptistcare Moonya Residential Care in Manjimup.

The week was part of Baptistcare Moonya’s Cultural Therapy Program and inspired by some of the residents who have an Italian upbringing, representative of the large number of people with Italian heritage living in Manjimup.

Residents had a fantastic time engaging in a wide range of Italian-themed activities. They explored different cities of Italy, learned to count in Italian, played Italian bowls and listened to a variety of Italian music, including opera.

Through fun facts, quizzes and books they learned about Italian history and recent news, and reminisced about Italy. They also discussed famous Italian sayings and famous Italian people, even chatting about what makes a renaissance man.

A variety of Italian food was prepared for everyone to enjoy, including pizza, pasta, focaccia and minestrone soup. There was even the opportunity to make their own pasta.

Lifestyle Coordinator Suzette Starling explained the residents were consulted about all the activities and food they wanted to indulge in.

“The residents were hands-on with most activities, many got the hang of them and had some laughs. The outcome was great,” Suzette revealed.

“The biggest winner was pasta-making. Elaine, one of the residents, became very animated making pasta the way she used to. She had staff and the other residents completely enthralled,” she said.

In the new year, the residents look forward to a weekly cultural hour for which they have selected a number of cultures they are interested in exploring.

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