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?
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.
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? (more…)
Arriving in the town of Leogane, the scene is like a disaster film: Almost everything is destroyed.
The buildings that remain are extremely damaged. They will have to be destroyed or will have to go through major reparations. Since 12 January, a big part of the assistance from HelpAge has been routed to this region.
This week we received a very heart warming video from our partner El Wedad, in Gaza.
The film was made as part of HelpAge’s DEC funded project, which includes psychosocial assistance for older people, carried out by El Wedad. The film was produced to raise awareness of the issues older people face.
El Wedad worked in homes and schools educating families and grandchildren on the abilities and needs of older people.
The message behind it (translated from the Arabic on the screen) is that “Loyalty to older people creates happiness for the whole family”
Older people’s associations in Mozambique and HelpAge have worked together to engage the government at the highest level and make a difference to their lives.
A true picture of older people’s lives
Eight politicians from all over Mozambique, visited the distrits of Chókwe and Boane this April. The visit was in direct response to older people’s requests.
They got a true picture of older people’s day to day lives and were made aware of the contributions to society that older people make through their work in the community.
The report details some of the ways in which older people face extremely hard working conditions. “Forgotten Workforce” highlights the scale of work carried out by older people in low and middle income countries and the difficulties they face.
Lauren Kessler (pictured here with a municipal nursing home resident) is a clinical social worker with the Rush University Medical Center who has been in Haiti assisting older people alongside HelpAge. She has been keeping the Rush newsblog updated with regular posts from Haiti.
The Rush team have been busy treating older people at the municipal nursing home in Port-au-Prince, as well as other tent cities. They have also visited nursing homes in Leogane, the epicentre of the earthquake, assessing the needs of older patients.
Although Les Cayes was not directly affected by the earthquake, the older people living there are feeling its consequences.
I met with around 30 older people in La Savanne, one of Les Cayes’ poorest neighbourhoods.
Most of the older people I spoke to had five or more children who were unemployed. A lot of them had mobility problems or other disabilities, such as blindness. Many complained of muscle ache and pain.
We could all take a leaf out of Betty Londergan’s book (or blog).
1 January 2010 marked the start of a pretty amazing year for Betty. For the next 365 days, she pledged to donate $100 every day to a worthy organisation, cause or project…and blog about it.
You’ll be pleased to know that not only is Betty a very charitable person, she is also a very good writer (all the more reason to read her blog). And it wasn’t very long before Betty’s project gained quite a following.
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.
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 
Arriving in the town of Leogane, the scene is like a disaster film: Almost everything is destroyed.
Older people’s associations in Mozambique and HelpAge have worked together to engage the government at the highest level and make a difference to their lives.
Richard Blewitt, CEO of HelpAge International, shares his personal views on older people’s right to decent work:
Lauren Kessler (pictured here with a municipal nursing home resident) is a clinical social worker with the 
Although Les Cayes was not directly affected by the earthquake, the older people living there are feeling its consequences.
We could all take a leaf out of Betty Londergan’s book (or blog).