Renáta Tomková

We’re headed for Melčíc’s. Here, the social worker of the care facility should be able to leave the Slovak way, where we have already appreciated two exceptional women. We know the number of the house, and although the landlords cannot give us much advice, we will eventually find the house. Happily, we also rang the bell, for otherwise we would not even know that we are faced with a good house number, but in the wrong street and village. So we’ll try the village next door, Adam Kochanovce. First we can’t find the right number. They’re higher on one street, lower on the other. We’ll take the locals. At noon, after half an hour of searching, we park in the right place.

The home couple invite us to the gazebo in the garden. The garden around is comforted, treated just like the lady of the house. Renata will offer us water, coffee, fresh homemade croissants and after a while even lunch. Water with syrup and candy didn’t last. My husband is leaving for responsibilities, and we have time to have a pleasant conversation with a hearty woman with a soft blue eye.

Renate used to work in a foster home as a tutor. It was her childhood dream. There she learned how people manifest themselves under pressure and how every type of conduct has its causes. She tried to impress troubled children with activity they liked and gradually gained their trust. She even set up a hip-hop dance group to find her way to her wards. ♦ I was thinking, Rena, the most important thing for these kids is free time. The school doesn’t enjoy them, they need something where they can express their emotions.

She has also brought her experience from a children’s home to nursing facilities, where she has been a social worker for 13 years. Its job is to work with caregivers to recruit new clients, help nurses and clients to solve tense situations. For example, when a client lies on the ground and no one knows how to deal with him or there has been an argument or disagreement between two clients. Once, she was dealing with a man who fell in love with her, another client who lost his life savings because of her love. ♦ I had a good relationship with my grandmother and I have a different view of old people. Sometimes you also see the smallness of that person, but you meet someone like Otilka or a nanny like Christinka, an invisible Martha, an invisible Janka, and you see the size of you as if you meet an angel, and she says and praises nannys who don’t regret time or their own comfort or even resources to help clients who often struggle with poverty.

And then come and tell them something is wrong… I’d appreciate all our babysitters, because it’s such a team that I really… It’s a shame that I can only give one person to finish.

The time went fast with Renate, for her warmth and her conversations cut the time with a large knife. Her hobbies weren’t hard to guess. One of them is the garden. The lines were full of vegetables and didn’t hesitate to give us a small Retired. Besides gardening, she loves to paint angels and hand them out as original gifts to her friends.