Create income and self respect for the elderly.

Old folks abandoned! The papers screamed! I looked at the ages of those affected. It says-between the ages of 50-65. 50? Still too young to be shut up in a home to idle valuable time away. One comment by one of the inmates-set my thoughts racing-"they sat and waited for food to be given to them; if it does not come, they ate nothing."Except for the inmates who are bed -ridden, or too sickly to move about, the rest who are still strong, could they not have something  done  for themselves??. They were right in the middle of an established neighbourhood. Couldn't they have ventured out and sought help?" What made them sit around and starve. Apathy?  It makes one wonder. Some body must find out the cause.Then again, I read of another lady, 73- still saddled with responsibilities. She is old but she does not wish to burden her children so, she sold beet-nut leaves for a living. The contrast! But then again, children, children, where art thou??

Everyone has some sort of  comments once the media blew  the lid off these negative going ons. The rest of the time, people are comfortable with walking around with their eyes and ears closed It is good that the authorities are taking action. BUT people, do you see them fire fighting?? Only when the fire is raging,  help comes in. With development, inflation, high cost of living and the what nots, we have more and more elderly folks uncared for now. Their families can no longer care for them.( parents can take care of 10 children but 10 children cannot care for one father and one mother-sad but true) The old folks homes are bursting at the seams. You could only get into one of  the more reputable ones with recommendation and recommendations do not come easy. Of course, there are those who charge a fee for your stay but how many has that kind of means?? So the uncared for, lands up along the corridors of shops and under the bridges. Many were dumped into one of those unregistered centres. The risk of being left stranded is high, like this  case of  five abandon ed   old folks.But if you have no where to go, what then??

The ills of society must be addressed as we progress  more and more into an ageing population. The authorities must prepare for the survival living of a population who are  ageing.

The principle of teaching and providing the elderly with  fishing grounds is becoming more important. It is good that the retirement age has been raised to 60 for people to remain financially stable. But there must be other avenues for ageing and elderly people to remain relevant so that they do not become too dependent on the charity and hands out of society. There must be an open option for those who can and still  want to work to sustain  themselves. Those with the means, those who have prepared for their retirement and old age are free to smell the roses and they rightfully deserve the fragrance.It is those who are ill prepared and do not have the means, that we are talking about.

Nothing like having the $ in your pockets, no matter the amount.  If nothing is done to cushion the self worth of the elderly, "Osteoporosis"  rapidly takes over.

 Idleness is not good. It deteriorates the mind and add to the effects of ageing. Have they, the authorities  thought of  creating income generators, even  for those in old folks home? For the still strong and capable who still welcome some sort of work, provide simple and not too strenuous jobs for the sustainable pocket money/allowance. That will definitely remove the automatic  dependency on others. That will enable the elderly  to retain their self worth.  Old fields can be very fertile and  still bear good fruits. Let's  leave out the sickly and the incapable.  They deserve the rest and the care.

The authorities themselves are made of people who  are also journeying towards ageing-no one escapes their time. No one remains young forever. Aside from educating the young to take care of their parents- why not be innovative and prepare fields of  income and self respect for the Golden or Ageing generation?? Say, 2-3, or 4 hours a day. Is it worth a thought??