case studies
Relocation service
Mary was going to live abroad with her daughter. Rock for the Ages helped Mary pack up her house in South Africa, sorting out and packing what was to be shipped, selling unwanted items (furniture, glassware, electronics and bric-a-brac) on Facebook’s Marketplace and donating items to charities close to Mary’s heart. We also assisted with the closing of local accounts and services (e.g. Edgars, Telkom, Vodacom, medical aid etc) and ensuring all banking details were in order before her departure. We prepared the necessary retrenchment and UIF documentation for Mary’s domestic staff, ensuring that all legal requirements were adhered to. Mary left a few days before the new owners took occupation of her home, so we made sure it was thoroughly cleaned and everything made ready before handing over the keys to the new owners.
Medical assistance
Nomsa was concerned that her elderly father, Wilson, was not able to manage the Covid-19 vaccination process. Rock for the Ages registered Wilson on the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) and when he was notified of his appointment, one of the Rock for the Ages au pairs accompanied Wilson to the vaccination site, waited with him in the queue and ensured he received his vaccination. 42 days later when he was eligible for his second jab, his allocated site was quite far from his home, so the au pair found a closer site and accompanied Wilson as a walk-in client. Afterwards, Wilson and the au pair snuck off for a celebratory cup of tea and a slice of cake at the outdoor restaurant at the nearby nursery.
Home maintenance
Simon’s parents were still living in his large childhood home. Whilst they were both well and active, the routine maintenance and upkeep of the property was becoming a burden for them, and Simon was concerned about his 82-year-old father climbing a ladder to change lightbulbs or inspect the gutters for leaves. Simon engaged the services of Rock for the Ages to provide a monthly maintenance service. This service now visits once a month and does a full maintenance and security check of the property. Small items (e.g. lightbulb changes, dripping taps & broken windows) are fixed immediately and some larger items (e.g. sagging gutters) are monitored for deterioration and a maintenance plan has been discussed and developed with Simon. The maintenance team were also available for an emergency call-out when the back-door key broke off in the lock, locking Simon’s parents out of the house.
Au pair services
Susan suffers from macular degeneration and on her doctor’s, advice has stopped driving. Susan has engaged the services of Rock for the Ages for an au pair two mornings a week to take her to the shops and on other out of the house errands. Recently the au pair has also helped Susan download audiobooks onto her phone so she can still do all the “reading” she enjoys.
Information services
Michael’s mother, Deidre, felt it was time to think about moving from her 3-bedroom apartment into a retirement community. She knew she needed to put her name on the waiting list but was overwhelmed by the options, choices and decisions. Concepts such as life-rights; rental or purchase with all their associated terms and conditions confused her. Michael lives in Sydney and with the Covid-19 restrictions is unable visit, so he engaged to services of Rock for the Ages to assist on his behalf. Rock for the Ages arranged for Deidre to visit 5 retirement communities, meet with the matron or general manager, view the grounds and ask questions about the terms and conditions applicable to each community. Rock for the Ages then organised a Zoom call with Michael and Deidre and the three of them worked through the pros and cons of each offering allowing Michael and Deidre to make some informed decisions. Deidre has completed the application form for 2 of the places she visited and will now wait until a suitable unit becomes available.
Service providers
Jenny’s mother lives alone. Whilst she is independent and able to run her home, when the fridge needed repairs, she simply turned to the local community newspaper to find someone who had advertised his services. Jenny was concerned that he was unknown and had no references. In these times of high crime and fly by night service providers Jenny was concerned that her mother might be letting a criminal into her home under false pretences or that the service provider might not be adequately skilled to do the necessary repairs. She turned to Rock for the Ages who found a suitably qualified and vetted repairman to attend to the fridge repairs.
