By Christine de Kock
THE Australian Polish Community Services will hold a photographic exhibition this week to highlight the relationship between volunteers and the elderly they serve.
The exhibition, titled The Faces of Goodwill, will be opened on 4 May at 5pm and will coincide with International Week of Volunteers, running from 5 to 12 May.
Patrycja Toczek, the services’ volunteer coordinator, said the pictures were taken to illustrate the close relationship between volunteers and the elderly.
“And we would like to encourage more people to become volunteers,” she said.
“We also want to draw attention to the problem of social isolation among the elderly.”
The service aimed to help the socially isolated elderly living in the western and northern suburbs who came from a Polish or eastern European background.
She said participants in the program often encountered language barriers, suffered dementia or related illnesses, which made it difficult for them to communicate.
“Especially for those living in aged care facilities, regular visits by a volunteer are often the only way of keeping in touch with the outer world,” Ms Toczek said.
The exhibition was established through a Maribyrnong City Council community grant.
