If you’ve spent any time around Huis Uitsig, you’ll know it’s not just a place where older people stay. It’s a home where people are cared for with dignity and where residents can live as part of a bigger family and experience belonging.
Marius Fourie, the home’s new manager at the helm, steps into the role with a strong sense of calling and a lot of lived experience behind him. “I can honestly say that God prepared me for the past 31 years for the role as Manager for Huis Uitsig,” he says.
His heart for older persons is deeply personal. Marius cared for both his parents through serious, progressive illnesses, including Huntington’s disease, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. “Having to take care of them and seeing them become increasingly dependent deepened my love and empathy for them,” he says. “It keeps me motivated to make sure that residents from Huis Uitsig age with dignity in an environment where they are loved and cared for.”
In his first month at the home, he’s already been encouraged by what he has found. “The spirit of Huis Uitsig is one of care, dignity and unity for all our residents,” he says. He speaks warmly about residents who’ve welcomed him so openly, and about a management team that works with real competence and heart. “They are professional, extremely competent and truly willing to go the extra mile for our residents.”
For Marius, dignity must be evident in practical, everyday things such as choice, privacy and respectful personal care that “minimises embarrassment and maximises comfort.” Over the next year, his focus will be on strengthening these five guiding values: “human dignity, compassion, integrity, excellence and ownership,” alongside strong care quality, more staff training, and a sustainable income base for the home. His goal is for Huis Uitsig to become “the epitome of excellent, safe and homely care in the Western Cape.”
And for families, his message is simple: you belong here too. With honest communication, shared activities and an open-door approach, Marius wants loved ones to stay close. “We are a family all staying together in one big house,” he says, and he plans to keep it that way.
For more information visit Huis Uitsig’s Facebook page.
