Fr Valmiki Dias, the founder of Daddy’s Home at Gogol, Margao, has been
successfully operating the school for students with special needs for the last
30 years. Taking this noble cause further, he has started Daddy’s Home of Joy
for the Elderly, a 40 bedded, old aged home at Revorda, Guirdolim-Chandor.
Archbishop of Goa and Daman Fr Filipe Neri Ferrao recently
blessed the premises and it will now be operational from August 1, with about
30 per cent bookings complete. The state-of-the-art hospice for the old has air
conditioned bedrooms, dormitories, an infirmary, 24×7 security, solar heating,
power back-ups at all times, recreation halls, a community hall, library, a
prayer chapel, gym, landscaped gardens, channeled music through the corridors
and a nun quarters to house the in-house nuns, who will look into the
day-to-day affairs of the aged.
Fr Valmiki remembers reading about young child Jesus interacting
with the elders and recalls that he always felt that the old need a sense of
community, safety, holistic growth and most importantly, to be allowed to live
a happy life and that too with dignity. That is how this journey started, with
the picking of this land in the heart of greenery and silence to actually
developing the old age home.
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“We have suites for couples, single rooms and double rooms with
attached toilets, dormitories with bedside tables and vaults and even respite
rooms for those looking at temporary stay in an event of traveling children or
unavailability of a caretaker,” explains Fr Valmiki, who also explains that a
lot of his adults and children with special needs at Daddy’s Home School are
aging and he wanted these seniors to also find rest at the Home for the
Elderly.
The inaugural had Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao bless the
premises and the mass was concelebrated by twelve other priests including the
parish priest of Chandor Parish.
While the inauguration was also historic since the Sisters of St
Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, who will be involved in the day-to-day functioning
of the home, established themselves in Goa for the first time and the decree of
their establishment was read by their Superior General who traveled for the
inauguration, all the way from Turin, Italy.
Renowned cardiologist Dr Francisco Colaco and his daughter
Elaine Colaco spoke about the works of Fr Valmiki, while legendary saxophonist
Braz Gonsalves performed for the large crowd of well-wishers and benefactors
gathered at the inaugural function.
Located about eleven kilometres from Margao and in the vicinity
of the St Xavier’s Chapel, Guirdolim, the old age home is amidst verdant
greenery, water bodies and the lovely village landscape, with large sit-outs
and walkways along the green fields making it an ideal location for people
above the age of 65 to spend their fruitful years of aging while the facility
offers home cooked meals and a doctor on call and the care of the loving nuns
from Cochin.
