SOUTH AFRICA: Elderly queueing for old age homes

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa (The Herald), March 7, 2008: Senior citizens are queuing up to get into old age institutions where life is kind compared with their homes. Mabel Nocawa Pota, 67, is one of many elderly residents happy to live in an old age home. Pota, an Ekuphumleni Old Age Home resident, who lost her sight due to ill health in 2001, could not help but smile when she spoke of not only the independence but the benefits of networking with her contemporaries since being admitted to the institution. Although the humble Zwide home which houses 50 seniors is a far cry from other establishments, Pota and her counterparts say that receiving 24-hour medical assistance, monitoring and regular meals is all they need. “I am not interested in staying with my children because I am used to being with other elderly people and I will die here,” Pota said. “People tried to break into my shack and there were criminals in my area. “It would be better for all old people to live in homes,” said Pota, who has sold her shack in the Qaqawuli informal settlement. She was able to find her way around the home without a cane thanks to the assistance of her counterparts. Cleaning her bedroom and washing her plate after a meal are two of her chores. When The Herald visited the home last week some residents were relaxing in the sun, but many were glued to the television screen in the TV room. They said they enjoyed The Bold and The Beautiful. Former Newton Park domestic worker Bassie Jack, 82, who was spotted with dyed hair, said she looked forward to visiting her former employers for Christmas lunch. “I have not been to town in a long time, and I am happy when my employer fetches me for Christmas lunch.” Just like the her counterparts Jack said she was happy to be among the elderly. Rooi Lebi, who has lived in the home since 1984, said: “I sit in the sun the whole day and when I am tired I go to sleep.” At the Gelvan Park Frail Care Centre, residents said they had been at peace with themselves since finding the home. Charles Alfred McBean, 80, a bachelor, said he had been admitted after developing leukaemia and he felt much better at the home. “I have gained strength since becoming a resident here.” Residents said they enjoyed playing board games, especially dominos and snakes and ladders. Township residents who had in the past shunned old age homes are now desperate to get their loved ones admitted as they cannot look after them because of work commitments. However provincial social development department spokesman Gcobani Maswana said that the picture was different in rural areas, where senior residents felt that old age homes were for “abandoned” people. “In research done by the department, old people said they did not want to go to the homes because it takes away a sense of pride,” he said. He said government was promoting family as a core of society and in communities senior residents were relied on for imparting wisdom. “We are promoting family as the core of society because we need the older generation to play a role in moral regeneration.” Maswana said there were 56 homes in the province, including 15 in Port Elizabeth and three in Uitenhage. Old age homes received a R1500 subsidy for each person drawing a state pension. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University anthropology lecturer David Bogopa said more and more elderly people needed the services of old age homes. “Our elderly people find themselves wanting, for example, while we are at work and the children are at school. They experience a very lonely life since they are unable to do some things, such as going to the shops. “Crime is increasing and it is no longer safe to leave the elderly alone at home.” Elderly residents said they were relieved to be living in the homes, as it was an open secret that they needed to find shelter from the abuse of not only criminals but also their own children. Ekuphumleni residents pay R660 towards monthly rental while those at Gelvan Frail Care Centre pay R1000. Ekuphumleni manager Mike Tsietso said 50 people were on the waiting list. By Dineo Matomela, HERALD REPORTER Copyright © AVUSA Media Ltd