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Giving Jewish Elderly in Casablanca a Home, an Inspiring Leader Redefines "Family"
In a delightful Moroccan courtyard, an enthusiastic audience claps their hands and bobs their heads in time with erratic, soulful rhythms of a band's notes. "Yay-dee-dye-dee-dye," a young vocalist chants, inspiring those among the crowd who are able-bodied to rise to their feet and sway their hips, their hands in the air and their expressions conveying an equal lightness of their hearts. This is no special occasion — it is a weekly live music performance, part of a series of engaging programming at the Jewish Old Age Home in Casablanca.
With sponsorship from JDC, the Home is a haven for 58 elderly Jews and others who can no longer live on their own and have no local family or a support system. "The culture in Morocco is to keep the elderly at home," explains the JDC Country Director for Morocco. So those Jewish seniors with family or financial means are not those who seek out the services of the Home. "Those who are here are among the most destitute or are in a very desperate situation, and this Home gives them a place where they can belong and receive a very high quality of care," the Country Director adds. And this care emanates from the staff's every move. On this particular day, more than half a dozen beaming women in white uniforms and head wraps click their tongues in encouragement and cheer. All eyes are on the Mrs. Toledano, the Home's beloved "matriarch" and champion. Sidling her way through the crowd in the traditional mellifluous movements of Arabic dance, an attractive, impeccably dressed woman addresses each resident by name, engages them in the festive tunes, and hugs them as zestfully as one would hug her own mother. Indeed, this is precisely how Mrs. Toledano feels. 
"After losing my mother 18 years ago, I needed affection," she confides. But with her parents deceased and no children of her own to look after, Madame Toledano (how she is referred to in the country's native French) turned her part-time volunteer work at the Home into a full-time love. "I filled the absence of my own family with this one. I found affection in the people here," she says. And in Madame Toledano, wife of the President of the Jewish community in Casablanca, the Old Age Home has found a staunch advocate and hugely devoted leader. Residents and staff alike attest that she gives generously of her own money and works tirelessly to give the residents whatever they need. Solange, a 38-year-old resident of the Home, is just one example of how Madame Toledano puts her heart and soul into her work. Paraplegic and developmentally challenged since birth, Solange was abandoned by her mother when she was a baby because of her disability. The Jewish community has been caring for the young woman at the Home ever since, providing her with nutritious meals; medical care; occupational therapy, which has markedly improved her coordination; and personal attention. Due to her condition, Solange does not fully understand the magnitude of her abandonment, though recently she started asking for her mother and wanting to speak with her. "Madame Toledano sensed Solange's pain and so now places a phone call to her at the Home every single week pretending to be her mother telling her that she loves her," explains a local JDC staff member. Madame Toledano may be sitting in the very next room at the Home and be responsible for the well-being of dozens of people, but she takes the time to help Solange feel that she is special. "I try to give attention to the whole world…a smile, affection, well-being," explains Toledano. "Bringing these things to these people is the big success of our community." Rennie, an 85-year-old gentleman who has lived at the Home for over 15 years, said that the care he receives from Madame Toledano and the staff is so good that he chose not to leave for France on a visa obtained for him by his extended family. "It was so nice here, I decided to stay!" exclaimed the Turkey native, who reached Casablanca more than six decades ago en route to Paris and was detained in the Moroccan capital due to the war. During his 30-year banking career, Rennie lived a rather isolated life, renting a room in an apartment whose owner was rarely there. After being attacked in the building stairwell, he chose to seek companionship and moved into the Home. "If I weren't living here," he said, "I would be totally alone." But alas, Madame Toledano would not hear of it. January 2007 |
