'Pergeri' helps elderly people fulfill themselves

'Pergeri' helps elderly people fulfill themselves

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): Elderly, happy, active and creative! That is the
motto of the Indonesian Society of Gerontology, a non-profit
organization for the elderly.

"Getting old is a natural process. It is inevitable, but
everybody can prepare for it properly," Sri Mulyono Herlambang,
who chairs the organization, said.

He believes that people should eliminate the common prejudice
that old people are "rocking-chair society" -- sickly, helpless
and unemployable.

Many people are still productive in their old age. History has
recorded the facts that British prime minister Winston Churchill
started to write his memoirs when he was 80, former U.S.
presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan were in power
during their 70s and Albert Einstein made important discoveries
in science when he was aging.

In Indonesia, people recognize Dr. Roeslan Abdulgani, Dr.
Soemitro Djoyohadikusumo, Rosihan Anwar and many others as
productive and intellectual elderly people, to name a few. Even
President Soeharto, currently among the above 70 group, is still
healthy and bright.

Yaumil Agus Achir, a professor of psychology of the University
of Indonesia, said although people cannot resist the process of
getting old, it is not an immediate change. Everyone must come to
the realization that they will eventually undergo physical and
mental changes. It depends on each person whether or not they
prepare themselves to face their retirement period.

She added that in the past aging Indonesians expected to rely
on their children to take care of them during their old age. But
today, the elderly have to learn to be more self reliant. Despite
the fact that the extended family system used to be the key
social unit in Indonesia, more and more young people are adopting
new nuclear family values.

Previously, people believed that taking care of their elderly
was a real blessing.

"I remember vividly how we tried hard to have our parents
staying with us. Therefore, they had to visit each of their
children's houses for a certain period of time," Herlambang said.

Today, young people migrate to urban areas to seek a better
future.

With this continuing trend toward migration, the once tightly
knit extended family units are slowly breaking up. Young people
are busy pursuing their own careers and raising their own
families in towns. It is very difficult for them to take care of
their aging parents because of limited time and economic
constraints.

Times are changing and many young people in Indonesia, as well
as in other Asian countries, believe that taking care of parents
has become too expensive a responsibility. The duty of caring for
elderly parents is viewed as a heavy burden now, which is quite
surprising since eastern societies mostly have strong and long
standing family traditions.

This shift in values, coupled with the fact that the aged
population is continuing to expand rapidly, has extended the
impact of the gray society into both a national and a global
issue.

Herlambang said the government is now working hard to
include the problems of the elderly in the State Guidelines. The
government plans also to make various adjustments in its policy
to benefit senior citizens, including stipulations on housing,
security systems, health and the workforce.

However, many people are of the opinion that such policy
making is a long term task and that much time is sure to pass
before formulation and enforcement can be achieved. Moreover, at
present the government is focusing its endeavors on dealing with
the homeless and neglected elderly people. What about active and
healthy seniors?

Herlambang, 65, once a high-ranking Air Force officer,
commented recently that the problem of the elderly has become so
alarming because immediate concrete action has not been
forthcoming.

"What is needed now is prompt actions to deal with the
problems otherwise they will become more complicated," Herlambang
said.

In order to accommodate active and dynamic elderly people, a
number of prominent senior figures established the Indonesian
Society of Gerontology (Pergeri) in l984.

The organization has been active in carrying out research and
studies on elderly people in an attempt to encourage greater
awareness of problems regarding the aged.

The organization now has eight branch offices in several major
cities, including Bogor, Bandung, Semarang and Surabaya. The
organization hopes to open new branches in other cities in order
to provide a forum for the elderly nationwide.

"Our main focus is to keep our senior citizens physically,
mentally and socially well and to increase awareness among the
younger generation about the need to pay serious attention to the
problems of the elderly," Herlambang said.

Various seminars and discussions involving both young and
elderly people are held to bridge the wide gap between the
generations. The organization also provides scholarships for
anyone interested in studying gerontology.

Another important activity is to seek job opportunities for
senior citizens.

"We can imitate other countries's efforts to employ these
people. Certainly, we will not grab the employment markets for
the younger generations, but administrative or part-time jobs
might be considered appropriate for the elderly," Herlambang, who
currently holds top positions in several companies, said.

Citing an example, he said that elderly people in some Asian
countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong are still
employed at public parks or bus terminals as ticket sellers.

The organization also provides mental and health consultation
and counseling to prepare the elderly for the immediate shock of
being out of work and of felling abandoned by their adult
children.

Mrs. Ratna Madjid, a member of the organization, commented
that she obtains various benefits through involvement in the
organization. The most immediate of those being that she can
share activities with other elderly people of around her age.

Mrs. Ratmini Soedjatmoko, 69, who is active in various social
activities said she did not know that a group dealing with the
elderly existed in Indonesia.

"I have to know the goal of this group before I decide to join
it. But, the establishment of such a group is a positive step,"
she remarked.

Herlambang added that several suggestions on how to benefit
the elderly have been submitted to the authorities, including the
establishment of special geriatric health units in every
hospital.

Traffic signs and special public facilities for the elderly
are also needed. A recent report says that Depok, an
administrative region about 30 kilometers south of Jakarta, is
the only place in the country where streets have special traffic
signs for the elderly.

"None of the needed facilities are aimed at spoiling or
comforting old people. But, how many young people are still
willing to give their bus seats up for the elderly ? And we
rarely if ever see young people helping the elderly to cross the
city streets," he remarked.

Although most of the elderly know that all of the suggestions
require serious consideration from the authorities and that it
will surely take a long time to establish them as policy, they
are still optimistic and are of the opinion that any action is
better late than never.