KUWAIT: Over 98 Per Cent of Seniors Live With Their Family

KUWAIT (Kuwait Times), August 22, 2006: At least 98 per cent of senior citizens in Kuwait live with their family, said Ali Hassan, chairman of the Senior Citizen Committee. The committee provides services for senior citizens in their homes. Presently the committee helps 1962 senior citizens in their homes, and less than 50 senior citizens live in housing provided by the committee. © All Rights Reserved - Kuwait Times Newspaper - Kuwait BACKGROUNDER KUWAIT - The Family and life within it The family unit is the most important thing in Kuwaiti society. Arab names themselves contain a sort of genealogy. After the birth of a child, the parents are often referred to by derivatives of the child's name: Abu Khalid is the "father of Khalid", and Umm-Bader is the "mother of Bader". The Kuwaiti family is generally very closed and private. It consists of a closely-knit extended family circle, some of whose members may be only distantly related. It is not unheard of for cousins to marry, and in fact it used to be the norm. Thus the family is a cohesive institution with individuals helping out with the different tasks within, supporting each other, rallying around in times of difficulty, and often pooling resources for business ventures or to overcome hardship. Kuwaitis love children. The traditional average family size is around ten. Males carry more prestige than females. Members of the older generation are accorded much respect and appreciated for their wisdom, for they represent an era lost to the present generation. Copyright(c)2000 Embassy of the State of Kuwait New Delhi. All Rights Reserved.