Loyola is happy to receive so many elderly people converging to Bertram Hall today. The Jesuit management thanks the Department of Social Work, lead by Fr Louis Arockiaraj SJ (Head of Dept), the faculty members and coordinators and the students who visit the elderly and learn from their service. Our students visit with you not simply to offer their help but they come to you to learn and gain experience. Your practical wisdom and your experience would be a source of inspiration and learning for them. They receive in giving.
In the Bible:
In the Bible we read: “You shall rise up before the gray-headed and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God; I am the LORD” (Lev 19:32). We respect you and we welcome you to this campus. We are there for you in times of need.
Statistics:
Life expectancy for men is estimated as 69.8 and for women it is 74.2 at present. Indian population is today 1.36 billion (136 Crores) – 8% is above age 65. This would grow to 20% in 2050, that is, from 100 million to 300 million (that is from 10 Crores to 30 Crores) elderly people would be there (one-in-five would be old). At that time more people older than 60 years than those below 15 years would be there. Aging in irreversible and inevitable but we could grow old graciously.
71% of elderly population resides in rural areas, while 29 % lives in urban areas. About 65 per cent of the aged had to depend on others for their day-to-day maintenance. Less than 20% of them are elderly women but majority of elderly men were economically independent.
UN Population Fund India titled ‘Caring for our elders: Early response India Ageing Report 2017’ points out that the section that deserves maximum attention remains old women, who are more vulnerable than men due to their longer life expectancy and meagre or no income. The top five causes of death among the elderly are: i. heart diseases; ii. road accidents; iii. cancer (esp lungs); iv. pulmonary diseases; and v. strokes. We need to ensure reasonably health care as well for our elderly, who have sacrificed their entire lives for others.
What do they need: Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (2002) indicates:
Three priority areas:
- Older persons and development;
- Advancing health and well-being into old age; and
- Ensuring enabling and supportive environments.
We also need to meet the expectations:
- Financial and food security,
- Health care, and
- Shelter and protection against exploitation.
Everyone has a part to play for the well being of the elderly, including the government and civil society, communities and families. Govt action: June 2017 – Union Minister for social justice and employment, Shri Gehlot promised:
Idea of old age homes as ashrams was not acceptable to some and so we are now opening a large number of day-care centres for the elderly. He further added that the government has also decided that unclaimed funds lying in Employees State Insurance and Provident Fund accounts as well as in banks will be used for the empowerment of senior citizens. “A sum of Rs 483 Crores from such accounts has been used for the purpose this year,” he announced. Secretary in the ministry Ms Latha Krishna Rao said: Senior citizens can be formed into groups and their experience and services can be used as mentors in schools, colleges, hospitals and even at anganwadis.
Professor Ravi Srivastava of Jawaharlal Nehru University also pointed out that women stand at a greater risk in old age as they are by and large poorly paid for the work done during their lifetime and so have meagre or no savings. Due to this, their vulnerability also rises with age and widowhood brought about by lower life expectancy for men only compounds this problem. Srivastava added, as 93% of the workforce is in the informal sector, there is no social security for them in old age and this problem too afflicts women the most, who along with SCs, STs and the poor remain the most vulnerable in old age.
The above mentioned report also mentioned that the problems of “income insecurity, lack of adequate access to quality health care and isolation are more acute for the rural elderly” as most areas lacked proper roads and transport access. As per the 2011 Census, it is said that 71% of all old people resided in rural India.
Migration of younger working-age persons from rural areas can have both positive and negative impacts on the elderly, the report said, adding that while “living alone or with only the spouse is usually discussed in terms of social isolation, poverty and distress”, it was also a fact that “older people prefer to live in their own homes and community”. However, it said, new technologies are helping the rural elderly stay in touch with their children.
(Cf. https://thewire.in/politics/elderly-population-demographics-india)
What do the Elderly need: The following could keep the elderly happy and healthy:
- Be active:
In rural areas: For good health – active life of hard work – keeping to exercises, esp walking, preferably with other elderly people.
- Have purpose:
To learn something new, to help others in need, what can I still do and keep myself busy?
- Laugh a lot:
Laughter is the best medicine – humour in worst situation is medicine – happiness is contagious.
- Value friendship:
Keep connected to friends and win new friends to enrich and enlivens life.
- Find Faith:
Find God again in life – Perhaps lost him amidst busy schedule – faith is the strongest form of hope.
- Be grateful:
Count the blessings and count them one by one – every day thank one person or one event – re-live the happy days with beloved people esp children and grandchildren (even if they do not visit you often) – the more you are grateful, the more you receive, esp of peace and joy.
- Never too late to learn:
Learn media gadgets such as cellphone, computers – games, group exercise, enjoyable hobby, intellectual activities (chess, cross-word puzzle, Sudoku) etc.
- Listen to others:
At the ripe age, each one has a lot of accumulated and interesting events and information to share – Listen to them with interest – A patient listener, with a kind word, learns a lot from the world around them.
- Plan ahead:
Plan for the best but be prepared for the worst – plan for days when you would be bedridden or you would not be able to communicate
- Stay Positive:
Have courage to learn anew and more – learn to be independent as much as possible.
(Cf. https://listovative.com/top-10-important-life-lessons-we-can-learn-from-our-elders/)
The Notebook: Love is stronger than death.
The Notebook is the moving novel by Nicholas Sparks. The notebook of Noah bears his poems for Allie, as monuments of his love for her. Allie is in a home for the elderly – Suffering from dementia and Parkinson disease. Everyday Noah would come and read the poems he wrote for her, even though he knew that she does not recognize him nor does she understand his poems. But he knew that she enjoys their being together.
He whispered to her, “You are the answer to every prayer I’ve offered. You are a song, a dream, a whisper, and I don’t know how I could have lived without you for as long as I have”. Often there prevails silence as they sit together the whole daylong. The author notes: “Silence is holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking. This is the great paradox”. One day Noah concludes his poem session: “You are my best friend as well as my lover, and I do not know which side of you I enjoy the most. I treasure each side, just as I have treasured our life together”.
Common Regrets in life:
In the evening of life we could realize what we have not learnt but we could put on courage to learn anew. The common regrets in life, as a result of interviewing about 100 people at deathbed, are:
- I wish that I’d let myself be happier
- I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends
- I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings
- I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
- I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
We can take note of these regrets and we can, in our own way and in our given situation, do the needful to cherish life. Nothing is too late in life.
(Cf Bronnie Ware, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, 2012)
What Loyola does:
Loyola brings you together; creates an atmosphere of a feeling that you are wanted and appreciated; and offers help through our students and staff.
You are our great teachers: we learn from you –
You are our inspiration: we imitate your enriched life –
And you are our blessing: We see God’s grace-filled protection in and through you. Our wish for you today is the Irish prayer:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields…,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Wish you a happy Elders Day. God bless you and keep you happy.
Francis P Xavier SJ
10 Mar 2020