Latest update December 4th, 2024 2:40 AM
Senior citizens need more recognition
Mr Joseph Pollydore
More recognition should be given to senior citizens for their role in helping to shape societal norms and values, said 70-year-old Joseph Pollydore, a resident of Mocha/Arcadia.
Pollydore’s comment comes, even as October 1 which has been designated by the United Nations as International Day of the Elderly, draws near. In fact the senior citizen’s day will be observed around the world next week Thursday.
And that day in years gone by was observed with some level of solemnity in the Mocha/Arcadia neighbourhood, Pollydore reflected. He said that residents of the community, especially school children would come out in their numbers to celebrate with a march the day designated for the elderly.
However, today he lamented that the passion to celebrate and cherish the seniors of the community has begun to dwindle to such an extent that there is even a lack of appreciation. This development, he said, occurred even as the Mocha/Arcadia Senior Citizens Club lost its vitality.
He recounted that it was back in 1992 that a number of elderly persons had come together and formulated a group called the Mocha/Arcadia Agency for a Better Community which was popularly referred to as ABC.
That group, he said, was the nerve centre where activities for the community were channelled. However, through the wisdom of Professor Ken Danns, Pollydore related that another group, this time a senior citizens’ club was formulated on October 4, 1992.
The Club, according to Pollydore was Danns’s brainchild which turned out to be an essential body that sought to amplify the importance of senior citizens.
“In his wisdom, he (Danns) felt that if we the seniors came together as one then we would be able to get assistance from donor agencies and other persons who are usually willing to give to such causes.”
It was a Sunday, Pollydore recounted, that the club was initiated with approximately 40 members, all senior citizens of Mocha/Arcadia. During the first meeting of the club some of the members were elected to become members of a steering committee which made the necessary arrangements to ensure that the entire month of October be observed as Senior Citizens’ Month.
The first elderly day march in Mocha/Arcadia
In 1996, for the first time, a march was arranged to show appreciation for senior citizens, which saw the participation of students of the community as well as residents. “Those marches were nice. To see the children with their banners urging people to do something nice for senior citizens, was really a thing to see,” a frail-looking Pollydore reminisced.
Similar marches were held in 1997 and 1998 but never again, said the Mocha/Arcadia elder. He noted that things just stopped all together. Even the members of the club diminished over the years with just a few remaining and they would meet on the first Monday of each month to discuss minor issues.
But according to Pollydore as the day of the elderly nears he is compelled to reach out to his community and encourage residents of other communities to remember the elderly even if but for a day. It is his expectation that like the years past that senior citizens day will feature a number of activities recognising the importance of the elders of the society.
According to the United Nations by 2050, one out of every five will be an older person, and by 2150, one third of the people in the world are expected to be 60 years of age or older.
“In our fast ageing world, older people will increasingly play a critical role – through volunteer work, transmitting experience and knowledge, helping their families with caring responsibilities and increasing their participation in the paid labour force.”
Older persons it was noted make major contributions to society. For instance, throughout Africa and elsewhere – millions of adult AIDS patients are cared for at home by their parents. On their death, orphaned children left behind (currently, 14 million under the age of 15 in African countries alone) are mainly looked after by their grandparents.
It is not only in developing countries that older persons’ role in development is critical. In Spain for example, caring for dependent and sick individuals is mostly done by older people, particularly older women.
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