In the living room of the Regina Mundi residence in Lagos, 70-year-old Baba Raphael gets up from her chair and puts on a virtual reality headset. For nine minutes, Raphael dances to the folk tones of his favorite singer, the late Ayinla Omowura, while watching a music video.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” one of the staff members asks Rafael. He does not answer, unconscious as he sings.
For more than a year now, art teacher Kunle Adewale has been visiting four care homes in the Nigerian city, hosting virtual reality sets and tablets often isolated residents, offering doses of therapeutic entertainment.
With headphones on, people can immerse themselves in songs, dance or exercise sessions, and even nature reserves. Some make digital art on tablets, creating illustrations or editing photographs.
“It’s about giving them joy, that’s the most important thing about it that makes me happy,” Adewale says. “It brings something different to the day, to its routine. They just love music and live it in a more powerful way. Some love dance sessions. For some we realized they wanted something calmer, so we downloaded sound therapy content to make them feel calmer. The amazing thing is that there are so many ways to use and experience it. “
Art teacher Kunle Adewale, of the center, began researching social therapies for the elderly after his stepmother experienced a memory loss after a stroke. Photo: Temilade Adelaja / Reuters
Adewale, 40, was in elementary school when his mother, father, and stepmother died within a four-year period. “My mother had a stroke and then she lost her memory. She couldn’t recognize us anymore, so we tried to make her happy in different ways, like singing songs.” His condition prompted him to investigate memory loss and “social therapies,” interactive ways of involving people with mental health problems.
We try to advise family members to come and see them, not only to leave them here, but this is often the case. Anthonia Adebowale
“One of the things we as children have in our culture is the belief that‘ my parents have done all these things for me, so when the time comes, I will pay for it. ’This is our culture of caring for our children. parents, but mine are gone, so now I pay the others, ”he says.
Few home residents receive family visits, making virtual reality sessions a valuable form of interaction and activity. Photography: Kunle Adewale
In Regina Mundi, Baba Festus, who has Down Syndrome, performs an eclectic mix of movements during a dance tutorial.
Mama Ibadan, a retired teacher, has developed a talent for digital art; one of his pieces is on display in the living room. Another work has recently been sold.
From her wheelchair, Mama Bolanle shakes her head to the music, a rare sign of activity for a woman who barely speaks. Staff say he hasn’t seen his family in years. “They dropped her and barely visited her after that,” one said. “At one point, we found out that her daughter had moved to the United States without telling us or her mother.”
Only three residents receive family visits, according to Regina Muni’s manager, Catholic nun Anthonia Adebowale. “The biggest problem they face is loneliness. Often their families bring them here and leave them. You can see how it affects them, they become very withdrawn. We do our best to support and encourage them. and this program also helps them to be more active and engaged. “
In Nigeria, nursing homes are frowned upon, says Adebowale, because of the cultural emphasis on caring for the elderly. “Your children are like your inheritance, so people think that if you have children, why should you be left alone in a house somewhere? It’s a sensitive issue.”
This is changing among the younger ones, a reality that is hard to accept for the older generation. “The transition is very difficult for them. We try to advise relatives to come and see them, not only to leave them here, but it often does. “
The hum of fans and generators runs through the house where the days follow a fixed routine around mealtime and prayers. Acts of kindness entail welcome interruptions. Those who want to sometimes send fabrics to make new clothes for residents, sponsor special meals or come visit them as Kunle Adewale. “I strongly believe that these houses should not be a place where people feel alone or left behind. We should strive to find ways to help them become more active places where they can interact socially and have dignity. “
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