MY WEEK OF GETTING OLD: CORNEL, 24, KENYA

I was eight years old when my parents divorced and I left Nairobi. My parents sent me here to live with my grandmother, Mama Teresa. Since then, my father has died and my mother has gone away.

Mama Teresa took care of me. She paid my secondary school fees, even though she couldn't really afford it. She is both a mum and dad to me. She is humble, intelligent and hardworking. Mama Teresa is my role model, the one person I can count on.

I want to work hard and earn enough money to make sure she doesn't have to work on the farm and can rest, as she is getting old. I spent a week recording my experiences of living with Grandmother, as part of my week of getting old. Here's a report on my week:

DAILY TASKS

Every day, Mama Teresa wakes up very early and thanks God for looking after her during the night. I think that because she values God so much, she has been able to take such good care of me and teach and guide me properly. She then tends to her chickens and sweeps out their coop.

Around 6.30am she leaves to work on her shamba (smallholding) for a few hours to prepare the land for planting maize. She cannot work for as long as she used to. But she still goes to work and to give advice to the workers there.

When she gets back she makes porridge and sits down to sieve maize to make a maize and bean dish. She also collects cow dung from the cow shed to put on the house as a protective covering that dries in the sun.

CONTRIBUTING TO THE COMMUNITY

Some days, Mama Teresa goes to meetings with community-based organisations. She goes to the nearby village to collect data on children there for a charity survey, usually on Saturdays but occasionally on other days too. She has no money to pay for transport, so she walks.

When she gets back in the evening from her day volunteering, she fetches firewood to light the fire to cook supper.

She milks the cow and uses the milk to prepare herself bedtime tea. Unfortunately, because of her teeth she cannot eat solid food and so she has to make herself tea. Sometimes I fetch water for her so she can bathe.

SHARING EXPERIENCES

In the evening, we share our experiences of the day and our memories of the past. This is when Mama Teresa can at last sit down to drink her tea. We speak about things like the worst bits of getting older.

She says: "There's no proper attention given by doctors or nurses when you get sick. Also, having to live in poverty and having no money to buy food. I rely on my vegetable plot to provide me with food but it's difficult to find enough the strength to cultivate the soil."

After dinner, Grandmother sometimes calls us to pray together to thank God for what He has provided. We also speak about young people in Kenya. Grandmother says: "I think most young people in this country will be good citizens because they are educated and hardworking."

Every Sunday Mama Teresa does her chores before going to a morning church service. One of her helpers who comes to light the fire helps her get to the church too. Later, Grandmother prepares the maize for grinding. She measures the exact amount to be ground. Her chickens gather round her. They're hungry and want feeding.

GROWING OLD WILL BE A CHALLENGE

At the end of this week, I've realised that I'll have to be well prepared for old age so that I don't have a lot of work to do. I also realised that Grandmother does a lot of work at home and whenever she sits down to relax she feels weak and unwell.

I think growing old will be a challenge because I won't be able to do most of the things and activities I do now, like playing soccer. I think I'll only have a good life if I plan well and have a job that allows me to save. This is a challenge because I still don't have a job or the money to continue my schooling. If I get old without planning well, I won't enjoy my old age.

I want to make everyone aware of the needs of older people. Younger people like me need to stand up for older people’s rights so we can enjoy a good life when we get older. We should also help older people form support groups so that they can help each other.