Do not neglect the elderly

Elders are very important people in our African societies.

They contribute immensely towards the upbringing of their families, in order to make your family members responsible people in society.

Beside all these, they also mediate in conflicts and preside over traditional marriage, naming  and wedding ceremonies.

Despite the important role they play in society, sometimes they are being neglected by their own children, when they are ageing instead of taken good care of them. Some of them are even being isolated.

However, there are good children, who take good care of their parents until their time comes.

We should adopt the good practices, which our elders taught us during childhood.

It is sad, sometimes, that in this country, we see families that have no time for their parents.

Instead, they are only confined within the house, and even to see their own born children during the day or week is always a big problem.

The elderly are part and parcel of society.

They should not be dumped at one place, and left to play with their grandchildren.

They also need a social life, and time has to be created by the younger generation to always interact with them.

Elders deserve respect and honour from the young generation.

We should avoid the Western culture, where parents separate from their children at an early age, and try to adopt our own African values.

We would like to commend the Department of Social Welfare and Ageing with Smiling Initiative (ASI) for the good work they are doing in addressing the plight of the elderly in this country.