Elderly ‘hoodwinked’
Older Persons Week runs until tomorrow, October 8. It included the International Day for Older Persons on October 1 and Grandparents Day on October 4. CANDICE SOOBRAMONEY looks at some of the hardships faced by the elderly and the importance of independ
THE director of the Verulam Day Care and Frail Care Centre, Pravin Patak, has seen it all – the elderly being hoodwinked into signing away their properties to their children, being neglected and being physically abused.
“Can you believe that we as a society comment on our spiritual beliefs, but perform such acts against the very same parents that brought us into the world?” asked Patak, director since 2001.
“I’ve seen senior citizens’ properties taken by their children. Most of our elders come from a generation of not having a full education and may be illiterate, but some know how to sign their names and end up being hoodwinked into transferring their homes.
“There was one incident where a stroke patient alleged her son took her thumb print and her property was transferred to him. He then asked her to move out. She was 78. A relative approached us for help and we sourced a volunteer attorney to assist.”
Patak said other senior citizens were convinced that by giving away their properties, they could access their old-age grants.
He said most of the aged in old-age facilities were women.
“They are outliving and outnumbering men. Most of these women were housewives, and after their spouses’ deaths they did not have sufficient funds to provide for their upkeep for the future and ended up here.”
Patak, a member of the South African Older Persons Forumin the Office of the President, said physical abuse was a concern.
“They come with scars on their bodies. Some are even left outside our facility with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
“We get reports from hospitals that they are left there by relatives without a forwarding address or contact numbers,” he said.
“We have noticed that during the holidays, children leave their parents at hospitals and claim them when they return. I’ve had calls about this taking place as far as Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.”
He advised that the aged needed love, care and kindness not only from their family but from society.
“Civil servants, for instance, must remember that when the elderly go to their offices, they should be kind and caring. We find that many of the younger generation do not show care and kindness either.”
He said that if society did not care, it led to the moral degeneration of communities.
Patak added that drug and alcohol abuse led to children abusing their parents and grandparents.
“You have a situation where the aged cannot collect their pension, so they ask their children or grandchildren to collect it, but sadly, they may not see their money.” He said others who took advantage of the aged were marketing agents for cellular companies.
“They are called and told a specific cellphone is free, but end up being stuck in two-year contracts. Even loan sharks are targeting the aged at pension paypoints.”
Patak, who is also part of the provincial senior citizens forum, which is part of the Office of the Premier, said grandparents were made to be nannies and cleaners in their children’s homes. What are the solutions? “We need greater education at schools by teaching right living. We need to educate children on the aging process. We must also call on religious leaders to ensure they instil family values. Caring for the elderly is a topic they must propagate.
“We, as members of the provincial senior citizens forum, also engage with the government on policy issues that impact on the lives of senior citizens. We asked the Department of Human Settlements to implement a policy on housing projects – to have 10 to 15% allocated to the elderly. We are liaising with the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs to look at a discounted fee for municipal services to senior citizens for water and electricity.”
Patak said they had asked the Department of Social Development for an annual increase in subsidies they provide to frail care and day care service facilities.
Ncumisa Fandesi, spokeswoman for KZN Social Development MEC Weziwe Thusi, said Older Persons Week was a chance to acknowledge the contribution of older people.