90-year-old Zita keeps leading Druskininkai seniors

Zita Joana Jančiauskienė, a 90-year-old community leader in Druskininkai, says she has no plans to retire and remains busy with senior activities. She spoke to LRT reporter Domantė Platūkytė about her work with the Druskininkai Bočiai, an organisation that brings seniors together.

Jančiauskienė is the long-time chair of the group and an honorary citizen of Druskininkai. She writes scripts for celebrations, hosts Advent gatherings, exercises and dances, and leads rehearsals for other seniors. “I haven’t retired at all. I just wish there were more hours in the day,” she told LRT.

She says the Bočiai are her work, leisure, joy and sorrow, and that she rarely has time to watch television. Her children have asked her to finish the family tree, she said, but she has promised to do it when she retires. When she received her honorary citizenship, she joked: “Don’t think I’m going to eternal rest now. I haven’t even taken temporary rest yet.”

Jančiauskienė used to walk as far as 20 kilometres with a friend using Nordic walking poles. Back pain now makes walking harder, but she still dances. She said she can dance despite the pain, although she avoids faster dances. “When I dance, it doesn’t hurt. When I stand by the stove, it hurts,” she said.

She also said she looks after her health by drinking fruit and berry smoothies in the mornings and taking supplements. The Bočiai’s work includes caring for 48 people who cannot manage on their own, including seniors and people with disabilities. Volunteers shop for them or help them get to shops, drive them to doctors and visit to keep them company.