Sophiagård Elmehøjen: human wisdom

“All people need to feel some kind of meaning in what they are doing,” explains head mistress Anja Grage. “It’s important that they see they have a role in society, that society needs the work they can do.” All Sophiagård Elmehøjen’s 24 residents are all intellectually disabled, but physically mobile, so the challenge is to offer them both a home and a working community. “We have workshops for our residents and they can also work on the farm… It enhances their confidence and helps with their sense of purpose. At the end of the day, we all find some kind of identity in our jobs.” 

“Anja is flanked by 40 co-workers, pedagogues, administrative and technical staff who make the organisation tick on a daily basis, supporting its residents 24/7: “We always focus on what they are able - not unable - to do. Sometimes they need guidance, or pedagogical support, or maybe we might have to adapt the machinery for them. But with a bit of patience, we can help them evolve and develop. It makes all the difference.”

In 2019, with the help of an EU-guaranteed loan from Merkur, backed by the EIF, Anja was able to purchase a house just across the street and to start renovating it in order to house three more residents. “The house we bought is perfect. It can take three more people and has a lot of farmland. If we get permission, we’d like to build a multi-purpose space there, so we can hold events, theatre, concerts, lectures… It’s something we’ve been dreaming of for many years.”

“It’s not like a normal business,” Anja concludes. “If you have to take care of people, it demands more. We have four people who have been here for 33 years… This is their family. It’s not easy to switch off when I go home. But I truly love my job.”