Elderly need more than home care

Elderly need more than home care

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

When her husband died 12 years ago, Rauni could only grieve and
has lived in depression since. Poverty has haunted the 65-year-
old and her three children, worsening her condition.

She would get angry easily and often smashed things into
pieces without any reason.

However, since she has received regular visits from volunteers
of the HelpAge Indonesia foundation, she has managed to cope with
her anger and grief and started to accept reality.

"She can smile now and she is willing to talk about her
problems. Her condition is completely different from when I
visited her for the first time," said volunteer Zainuddin, 54.

Rauni's case is only one example of the ongoing home care
program -- a pilot project conducted by HelpAge Indonesia in
cooperation with HelpAge Korea in Tegal Alur that began in March.

The program, which has been a success in Korea, is aimed at
provide activities for senior citizens by visiting the homes of
46 selected elderly people in the subdistrict at least once a
week.

Tegal Alur was elected for the pilot project because it is
among the poorest subdistricts in the city. There are around 400
elderly people who need help, but the foundation has only
recruited 36 volunteers for the project.

HelpAge Korea executive secretary Cho Hyun-se said the home
care program, which was launched in 1987, has received support
from the Korean government.

"I hope this program will also be successful here," he said
during a recent visit to Tegal Alur.

The volunteers revealed that the home care program here would
be different from that in Korea since most of the elderly people
here live in poverty.

Lynna, 33, another volunteer who is assigned to take care of
Umar, 83, said that the elderly would need more than just visits.
She pointed that Umar, who works as a masseur to survive, lives
in a four-square-meter makeshift house without ventilation.

"I always smell the stench of urine when I enter his house,"
she said, adding that Umar now lives alone because his six
children already have their own families. She said Umar could not
rely on his children because they were also poor.

A similar comment came from volunteers Maryati and Zainuddin,
who suggested that the foundation provide more assistance for the
elderly so they could lead healthier lives.

Responding to the requests, Cho said he was unsure if the
foundation headquarters in Korea could sponsor more programs for
the elderly people in Indonesia.

HelpAge Korea also has similar programs in nine other members
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It hands
over US$12,000 per year to each member country. The program will
last for two and a half years.