Alex Kalache, HelpAge ambassador, remembers his friend, mentor and ally, Bob Butler (pictured). Bob championed older people’s rights, coined the term ‘ageism’ and worked tirelessly to change negative stereotypes of ageing until just three days before his death on 4 July this year:

Bob’s multiple achievements are well known - from the Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his seminal book “Why Survive: Being Old in America”, through to his establishment of the US National Institute of Aging and his co-founding of the American Federation for Aging Research, the Alliance for Aging Research, the Alzheimer Disease Association and the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.

Add to these ground-breaking initiatives, chairmanship of the White House Conference on Aging by invitation of President Clinton and the creation and directorship of the International Longevity Centre.

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Rachel Albone, HelpAge’s HIV and AIDS Policy Adviser spent last week at the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna. Here are some of her highlights:

Sunday morning: We started with the World Health Organisation (WHO) consultation on Global AIDS strategy 2010-15.  I haven’t been to an international meeting on HIV before that has focused so heavily on care and support and the contributions and needs of caregivers!

Caregivers like Awassa, above, who are supporting grandchildren who have lost their parents to HIV and AIDS. She told us that her biggest worry is not having enough money to support and feed her grandchildren.
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As we organised Mother’s Day and Father’s Day actiivites for older people in Haiti, I realised how little time is given to them for the rest of the year. It is like they no longer exist.

Older people live with the burden of isolation, psychological distress, health problems and family responsibilities every day.

During a tragedy like the 12 January earthquake, we often think of women, children or handicapped people but we forget and generally neglect the fate of older people.

Furthermore the government and different humanitarian actors in the field know very little about older people’s needs.

A voice to share their experience

Mostly, older people want to play an active role in society. After the quake, older people said clearly that they did not want to be spectators, but wanted to be active in the reconstruction of their country.

Because of this, they had to be given a voice. A voice that will help their real needs be known. A voice to express their aspirations. A voice to share their experience, which will help rebuild Haiti. But how do we give them this voice?

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Six months on from the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti, the UK Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has released a series of videos showing the work that has been done with the money raised by the public.

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Six months on from the devastating earthquake, life for older people in Haiti’s temporary camps is still tough.

HelpAge International in Haiti has been speaking to groups of older people in camps located in Carrefour, Cite Soleil, Delmas,  and Petion-Ville. 

We want to collect more information about their living conditions and their views on what it would take to get back on their feet again. 

Not surprisingly, their main desire is to leave the camps. They spoke of their discomfort, the conditions, attitudes towards them from younger residents and in some cases, the fact that they are excluded from distributions of humanitarian assistance.

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The 2010 FIFA World Cup comes to an end this week, with either Spain or Holland lifting the coveted trophy for the first time in their footballing history.

Global celebration

The first World Cup to have been held in Africa, the 2010 tournament has meant so much to its host nation, South Africa. As the focus of the world’s media, South Africans have brought people from around the world together for the biggest sporting celebration on the planet. And it hasn’t disappointed.

A few of my highlights:

Vuvuzelas (the most annoying noise ever?), outrageous managerial attire (Maradona’s mullet and Joachim Loewe’s lucky jumper, right), even more outrageous refereeing decisions (don’t worry Lampard, everyone knows it was goal), a seemingly unstoppable German team (until Paul the psychic octupus decided otherwise) and tens of tens of sublime performances and goals (Wayne Rooney, you are excused from this category).

But what happens after the last vuvuzela has been blown, the last goal scored and the remaining fans fly home?
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Everyone’s in World Cup frenzy here in Haiti. Cars display their drivers’ persuasion - the only options apparently being Argentina or Brazil. Every little roadside shop and café has the sports channel on, and the streets clear and traffic is non-existent when either team are playing.
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“But are there any old people in Haiti? Isn’t life expectancy something like 54?”

I’ve been asked this question twice in the last few weeks.

It’s hardly a scientifically accurate sample, but I wonder if it’s representative of people’s understanding of “life expectancy”?

Do people see HelpAge signs and wonder: “Why are they here, are there that many older people?”

“The myth of life expectancy”

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Sunday was Father’s Day in Haiti and as part of our “psycho-social” programme supporting older people’s recovery, we organised two events to celebrate the day.

There was some debate among staff at the care home we visited in the morning; did men really deserve a Father’s Day?! Mother’s Day they could understand – mothers do so much.

“Even now at the care home the women residents help out as much as they can,” one of the staff tells us.

Nevertheless the men enjoyed the events and all residents – men and women -  got lots of cake!

Celebrating fathers’ contributions

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Today we’ve been to the Asile Communale, the municipal nursing home that hit the international headlines shortly after the earthquake. One week after the earthquake, no food, water or medical assistance had reached the home and many of the residents were in a dire situation.

Exume Fleurantus (right) remembers it well: “Bertin Meance from HelpAge came and brought sweet potatoes from the market”. In a matter-of-fact way she adds: “He saved us”.

Substantial support to a “last resort”

Over the following months HelpAge and other NGOs have been providing substantial support to the home. The media still drop by from time to time to report and monitor progress. Many people, clearly have been frustrated that improvements and progress have taken so long.  So, really I was expecting the worst.
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