Journalists host feeding and gift-giving for Cainta seniors

A group of journalists covering the eastern flank of Metro Manila and Rizal province on Saturday conducted a feeding program and gift-giving initiative for abandoned elderly residents at the local government-run One Cainta Sunset Retreat inside Greenland Subdivision in Cainta.

The facility, which currently houses 42 senior citizens, is among the largest projects for the elderly led by Mayor Keith Nieto, social worker Abegail Mae Pastor told members of the PaMaMariSan-Rizal Press Corps during the orientation.

"He [Nieto] loves our senior citizens because he doesn't want any of them to be left behind," Pastor said.

Pastor added that the facility ensures the residents’ comfort and health. "They eat five to six times a day—breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, sometimes midnight snacks when our elderly wake up at night," she said.

Doctors, nurses, and caregivers are on hand to provide free medical care, daily maintenance medicines, and recreational activities, including sports fests, Valentine's Day celebrations, Halloween events, and one-on-one sessions for learning and engagement.

One Cainta Sunset Retreat was established on 1 May 2023, envisioned by Mayor Nieto to ensure no senior citizen in the municipality would be left unattended. Frederick Salonga, the facility’s general manager, said it is the only local government-funded home for the aged in Rizal province.

Journalists from the PaMaMariSan-Rizal Press Corps, led by Tribune reporter Neil Alcober, also gave out food packs, hygiene kits, and toiletries, and serenaded residents with Christmas songs.

"It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a community to raise our abandoned, neglected, and foundling senior citizens. Here in the town of Cainta, we make sure that all senior citizens are taken care of," Salonga said.