India is home to approximately 138 million elderly, forming nearly 10 percent of its population. Elders were identified as the most vulnerable during the pandemic and the hardest hit. On the occasion of World Elders Abuse Awareness Day, Tuesday voluntary organisation working for the welfare of geriatric population HelpAge India (Goa chapter) released its annual survey report showing the issues being faced by the senior citizens across 22 cities in India, including Panjim.
“The report brings out some startling facts and forces one to re-look at the frame through which we view our elderly. Elders are today aspiring to work, they don’t want to be viewed as only dependents, but as contributing members of society. Therefore, it is important that along with providing social protection for the poor and disadvantaged, we create an enabling environment for a large section of senior citizens who are willing and capable to contribute towards realising the longevity dividend,” CEO HelpAge India Rohit Prasad said.
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The report is dip-stick study to understand the overarching gaps in income and employment at old age, health and wellbeing, elder abuse and safety along with social and digital inclusion of elderly. It is based on a sample size of 4,399 elder respondents and 2,200 young adult caregivers.
It is interestingly to note that 47 per cent elders are dependent on family for source of income while 34 per cent are dependent on pension and cash transfers. However, 52 per cent elders reported that their income was inadequate. Meanwhile, 40 per cent elders said they did not feel financially secure.
Again, personal well-being and happiness fall around expectations from family members, with 79 per cent elders feeling that their family does not spend enough time with them.
Even though, majority (82 per cent) of elders are living with their families, 59 per cent want their family members to spend more time with them. This shows that even after staying with family, larger percentage of elderly feel lonely.
Rohini Gonsalves, Founder & MD of Sevarat Healthcare & Nursing Pvt Ltd, medical care service provider for seniors in Goa, said that the minute one turns 60, which is fixed as the retirement age in government sector, children think that the individual has become a dead weight.
“No one takes your opinion, your existence doesn’t matter. You are just like furniture in the house. You are not adding value to them in any way, so that has become a problem. So, I think we need to shift the perception of old age. It should be a time of celebration not a time of giving it up,” Gonsalves said.
To keep the elderly people happy is the responsibility of entire society, not just the family. “Today we as neighbours when we’re taking our children, we invite others’ friends children to join us. Why can’t we do that with elderly people? We are just ignoring them completely. We are actually excluding them from everything,” she said.
Advocate Eeshan Usapkar, who takes up the cases of elderly persons, said because of the nuclear family system, very little time is being spent with the older members.
“There lot of families in Goa where the parents are here and children are settled abroad. They are ready to pay for their parents’ upkeep but they don’t spend sufficient time with their parents,” Adv Usapkar said.
Regarding financial insecurity, he suggested that government should come out with schemes where their experience could be utilised for certain specific projects at regular intervals. “This would help them have some income of their own,” he said.
Professor Shruti Nadkarni, who is the coordinator of the legal counselling and facilitation centre for senior citizens at G R Kare College of Law, Margao, said that because of proliferation of digital communication devices, grandchildren are hooked onto these gadgets and consequently don’t spend enough time with their grandparents.
“Younger generation should be more sensitised towards this kind of behavioural problem. I feel that computers and social media addiction is depriving the young generation from getting valuable life lessons from their grandparents, which is sad,” she said.
President of All Goa Senior Citizens’ Federation Diogo Da Costa said that dependency on family is one of the major reasons for abuse against the elderly.
“I believe that after their retirement, the seniors, especially who have technical knowledge, should start their own service in areas like electrician, plumber, mechanic, architecture and many other such specialised services, which are always required by the people. This will ensure that they have a regular income,” he said.
The youngsters also agree that the elderly at home deserve more time from their family members.
“Elderly do deserve respect and spending time along with them. Just because they have aged it doesn’t mean they’ve lost interest in enjoying life. We must give them equal respect and help them by being there for them when they need us the most,” Akanksha Shinde said.
According to Hrishikesh Chanekar, in today’s high tech and bustling world, working professionals and even students have less time to spend with their families.
“This is especially true in the case of elderly people like grandparents who are confined to their homes. However, despite the various priorities that we may have towards our work and professional lives, we ought to make at least sometime for our grandparents. After all, we are their source of joy, laughter and contentment,” Chanekar said.
