Wanted: nostalgic camping gear to send seniors on holiday in their own home

Activity supervisor Silvia van Overloop can already see it in her mind: “For example, that people will wash up in the garden with a tub.” That may seem like a chore, but it can be very valuable for people with dementia.

“All those memories from the past are somewhere in the brain and they will come back as soon as you do something. You wish everyone that: that a piece can come back. That will be great for us if that works out,” she says hopefully .

Silvia really wanted to take the residents on holiday and thought for a long time whether that could be arranged. “Sometimes it causes too much unrest. I found out that it might be suitable for eight people at the most, but then of course you don’t include most people in the house.”

So she booked a trip for the whole house to the inner garden, which will turn into a real holiday resort. The inspiration comes from residents themselves. “We started asking where people used to go on holiday and what they have good memories of. Quite a lot of great stories came out. Most people went away with a caravan or tent,” Silvia now knows.

Help needed

The seniors will arrive at their destination on Monday, July 3. Completely in style, because the staff is waiting for them in flight attendant suits. Every day that week a different country is visited. “We play music and have snacks and drinks from those countries and we invite the family to sit in the garden with the residents,” Silvia describes the relaxed vacation days that the seniors have ahead of them.

To get all this done, the nursing home still needs a lot of help. The staff is mainly still looking for a very small and compact caravan or folding trailer that can be parked in the garden for a week. Nostalgic camping gear and holiday attributes such as old suitcases are also still needed. Want to help? Contact details are in the Facebook post below.