A house of Baba Yagas

Adapted from CBC.ca radio by Nancy Carson
Level 1

Thérèse Clerc is in her 60s.
She lives in Paris, France.
She knows she is getting old.
She thinks where will I live?
How will I live? Who will live with me?

She wants to know
Where do seniors live now?
She visits many seniors’ homes.
She eats in their dining rooms.
She talks to women in their rooms.
What she finds makes her angry.
She does not like what she hears.
She does not like what she sees.

She decides
She says yes, I am old, but…
No one will tell me what to eat.
No one will tell me when to turn off the TV.

A Plan
Thérèse talks to her friends.
They are all feminists.
They always want to be active.
They want interesting lives.
For years they talk to people in the government.
Thérèse and her friends want something new.
They say they are Baba Yagas.
They are old, wise women.
They want a seniors’ home for women only.
Men and children are welcome to visit.
And the women will run it.
They will care for each other.

Thirteen years later
In early October 2012, their dream comes true.
Nineteen women move into a new apartment.
These women are now in their 60s, 70s and 80s.
The home has six floors. Each women has her own room.
There are common rooms, too.

An experiment
Now Thérèse is 85. And she has 14 grandchildren.
She loves her new home.
Many people are talking about this new home.
Maybe this idea will come to other cities.