Baking, sewing, singing: How men in nursing homes are not forgotten
By Melody Hansen, Lex Kleren, Misch Pautsch Switch to German for original article
Men are outnumbered in care homes. They make up less than a third of residents, are generally less communicative and their carers are also mostly women. As a result, older men risk being left out more than their female cohabitants. What is being done about it.
Mr Schmitz always wants to know exactly when things are starting and what's coming up. "As soon as he sees me, he asks what project is due next Monday. He then prepares for it – and is always there half an hour early." That's what Hermann Thiel, a nurse at the Op der Lamp nursing home in Wasserbillig, says. Because Monday is men's night here. That's when the men of the home get together and work together, watch football, make mulled wine or simply go for a beer in the café.
Today, the group is working on the in-house model railway. A new railway crossing is to be installed. The six men are fully motivated. Everyone does what they can. They help each other. "I had a model railway myself, that was probably over 60 years ago. It was a Märklin one, " says Mr Schmitz enthusiastically. Back then, he had to share it with no fewer than eleven siblings. Today, the 84-year-old clearly enjoys reliving these memories.
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