old people - YUVA

What do Senior Citizens Think of Life Coaching?

In life coaching, fundamentally, the coach is helping the individual to improve their life performance: in other words, allowing them to learn. There is a vast difference between teaching someone and helping them to learn. But have you ever wondered what senior citizens think of life coaching?

While there are many different coaching models, here we are not considering the ‘coach as expert’ but the coach as a facilitator of learning. Coaching is a process that aims to improve performance and focuses on the ‘here and now’ rather than on the distant past or future. Coaching is a process that enables learning and development to occur and, thus, performance to improve. To be successful, a coach requires knowledge and understanding of the process and the variety of styles, skills, and techniques appropriate to the context in which coaching takes place.

International Day of Older Persons 2020: Do Pandemics Change How We Address Age and Ageing?

Today, 1 October 2020, we celebrate the International Day of Older Persons. The year 2020 marks the 30th Anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons.

This year has also seen an emergence of COVID-19, that has caused upheaval across the world. Considering the higher risks confronted by older persons during the outbreak of pandemics such as COVID-19, policy and programmatic interventions must be targeted towards raising awareness of their special needs. Recognising older people contributions to their own health and the multiple roles they play in the preparedness and response phases of current and future pandemics is also important.

15 June: World Elder Abuse Awareness Day celebrated in Mauritius

The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) happens each year on June 15th. It was officially recognised by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 66/127, December 2011, following a request by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA), who first established the commemoration in June 2006.

This day represents the one day in the year when the whole world voices its opposition to the abuse and suffering inflicted to some of our older generations.

YUVA volunteers, YUVA Academy students host lunch at senior citizens’ home

YUVA volunteers and YUVA Academy students organised a visit to the senior citizens’ home, Saint Jean de Dieu – Hospice & Chapel, Pamplemousses, on Sunday.

YUVA served lunch to around 100 residents of the home. We served 7 curries and rice, rason, panacon, juice and Aplon and Sagoo for lunch. YUVANs had set up the dining room, served food, fed those senior citizens who could not eat by themselves and cleaned up the place afterwards. We also organised different games, talked to the senior citizens and listened to their stories, each one as interesting as the last. We had put on music and those who felt like it danced and entertained the others. There was also an open mike session, whereby senior citizens, staff members and volunteers took the opportunity to amaze us with great songs.

Our young people were so excited that they presented handmade cards, sweets and other gifts to senior citizens. YUVANs also shared their stories with them. In return, senior citizens showered their blessings and enjoyed a lot in the company of our volunteers and students. Continue reading “YUVA volunteers, YUVA Academy students host lunch at senior citizens’ home”

Want to Spend Half-day with 100 Senior Citizens in a Home?

YUVA is serving lunch to 100 senior citizens residing at the Saint Jean de Dieu – Hospice & Chapel, Pamplemousses.

Venue: Saint John of God / Saint Jean de Dieu – Hospice & Chapel, 50 morcellement L’abri B18, Pamplemousses

Date: Sunday, 18 November 2018

Time: 11 AM to 4 PM

If you want to join the YUVA team of volunteers, which is organising this event at Pamplemousses, contact us at info@yuvamauritius.com or SMS on 5252 5556. Continue reading “Want to Spend Half-day with 100 Senior Citizens in a Home?”

700 Senior Citizens Served Food by YUVA at Petit Raffray

In the context of National Day 2017, YUVA, in close collaboration with the Petit Raffray Social Welfare Centre, organised a get together for senior citizens of the village.

Apart from a cultural show, the 700 attendees were served lunch.

YUVA Celebrated Xmas with Retired, Old People

We, at YUVA, feel blessed and privileged to have celebrated our second anniversary, Christmas and end-of-year this afternoon with grandpas residing at Hospice home.

Here are some photos clicked during the event:

YUVA celebrates Christmas with Hospice St-Jean de Dieu residents

YUVA Anniversary to be Celebrated with Retired, Old People in Home

This year, YUVA is celebrating its second anniversary with retired, old people of the Hospice Home (Pamplemousses) on 25 December 2016 at 13:00hr.

Why retired, old people?

It is the experience of retired persons that they dedicated their lives to the well-being of society and of the nation. All their lives, whatever their profession, they worked every day and all the time to do some service to society through their field of activity and also in their personal lives. They dedicated their energy, thought, and creativity to support and nourish society and to improve the quality of life in their nation. Then, after so many years of hard work and dedication, society rewards and respects them with retirement. Society says ‘Now you should rest, society will take care of you.’ The rest is well deserved. After a lifetime’s work the body now needs to rest.

But because the whole focus of life and activity was in terms of service to society, it is natural for a retired person to think ‘What can I do now, to be useful to society?’ Society does not expect activity from a retired person, but he still feels that he should do something to make a contribution to society’s welfare. All his life, he worked so many hours a day; now what should he do?

Retired people are concerned about everything that happens in society, on the individual level and on the collective level. They are concerned about all aspects of their nation. If society is not ideal they sit brooding over society’s failure. What else can they do because their bodies are tired and now society wants them to rest and to enjoy their retirement.

Society respects retired people, but when they see things going wrong in the lives of people around them, they feel sad within themselves.

Hospice Saint Jean De Dieu at Pamplemousses

Hospice Saint Jean De Dieu at Pamplemousses on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean is a retirement home for people above 60 years of age. It was started by St. John of God Brothers of the French Province in 1976.

There are 75 beds and all the beds are occupied. Residents are men over 60 years (with a few exceptions).

Among the 75 residents 62 are social security (having as a unique resource the old-age pension of Rs. 3,048 per month) & and 13 are private. In the year 2010 there were 21 new admissions, 16 residents died and 4 residents returned back to their families.

Main diseases of Mauritius are diabetes and hypertension and the residents wear traces: hemiplegic etc.

The sources of revenue for the running of the Hospice are the social security contributions, a few private residents and donations from Mauritian benefactors.

The social security Department of Mauritius Government provides the services of a doctor once in a week for 3 hours, one nurse for two days in a week for 16 hours, one occupational therapist for six hours a week and a physiotherapist for three hours a week.

We, at YUVA, feel blessed and privileged to be celebrating our 2nd anniversary, Xmas 2016 and the end-of-year with these grandpas.

1 October: International Day of Older Persons

On 14 December 1990, the United Nations General Assembly (by resolution 45/106) designated 1 October the International Day of Older Persons.

This was preceded by initiatives such as the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing – which was adopted by the 1982 World Assembly on Ageing – and endorsed later that year by the UN General Assembly.

In 1991, the General Assembly (by resolution 46/91) adopted the United Nations Principles for Older Persons.

In 2002, the Second World Assembly on Ageing adopted the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, to respond to the opportunities and challenges of population ageing in the 21st century and to promote the development of a society for all ages.

The theme of the 2015 commemoration is “Sustainability and Age Inclusiveness in the Urban Environment”.

Living up to the Secretary-General’s guiding principle of “Leaving No-One Behind” necessitates the understanding that demography matters for sustainable development and that population dynamics will shape the key developmental challenges that the world in confronting in the 21st century. If our ambition is to “Build the Future We Want”, we must address the population over 60 which is expected to reach 1.4 billion by 2030.

Background

The composition of the world population has changed dramatically in recent decades. Between 1950 and 2010 life expectancy worldwide rose from 46 to 68 years, and it is projected to increase to 81 by the end of the century. It should be noted that at present women outnumber men by an estimated 66 million among those aged 60 years or over. Among those aged 80 years or over, women are nearly twice as numerous as men, and among centenarians women are between four and five times as numerous as men. For the first time in human history, in 2050, there will be more persons over 60 than children in the world.

Almost 700 million people are now over the age of 60. By 2050, 2 billion people, over 20 per cent of the world’s population, will be 60 or older. The increase in the number of older people will be the greatest and the most rapid in the developing world, with Asia as the region with the largest number of older persons, and Africa facing the largest proportionate growth. With this in mind, enhanced attention to the particular needs and challenges faced by many older people is clearly required. Just as important, however, is the essential contribution the majority of older men and women can continue to make to the functioning of society if adequate guarantees are in place. Human rights lie at the core of all efforts in this regard.

The introduction of new policies and programmes

During the last decade, population ageing has led to the introduction of new policies and programmes, in which the social sector has taken centre stage, as shown by the majority of contributions to the present report. Many Governments in developed and developing economies have designed or piloted innovative policies in the health, social security or welfare systems. In addition, several policy framework documents, including national plans of action on ageing have been enacted. Specific age-related legislative measures in areas as varied as building codes, licensing and monitoring of care centres and vocational training have also begun to emerge. All levels of government, from local to national, have taken a share in this responsibility, and have either created new institutions or renewed existing ones to seek ways of gradually responding to the challenges faced by older persons.

Understanding the roles of older persons in family and society

Government institutions have chosen diverse approaches in setting priorities. These choices highlight different perceptions of the role that older people play in the family and in society at large. In some cases, measures aim to capture the rapidly evolving dynamics of communities and societies, inviting a second look at current perceptions about older persons and work, elder-care mechanisms, intergenerational support systems and financial constraints. Some Governments have designed policies founded on the principle of active ageing and autonomy, aimed at facilitating the continuation of independent lives at home, with services and facilities that cater for various types of needs. Others emphasize family ties and support for the family unit as the primary source of care for older persons. In all cases, a network of private actors, including various volunteer organizations and community-based centres, are essential to the smooth functioning of the entire system.

Of special resonance is the situation of older women who face inequalities as a result of their gender-based roles in society. Gender relations structure the entire life cycle, influencing access to resources and opportunities, with an impact that is both ongoing and cumulative. The different circumstances that shape the lives of women and men in old age are the outcome of a lifetime of experience. Good health, economic security, adequate housing, an enabling environment, access to land or other productive resources, these are the fundamentals of ageing with dignity, yet achieving them depends on decisions and choices only partly determined by each individual. The impact of gender inequalities in education and employment becomes most pronounced in old age. As a result, older women are more likely than older men to be poor. Furthermore, older women often take on greater responsibilities for family care while managing inflexible working conditions, mandatory retirement ages and inadequate pensions and other social security benefits, which leave them, and those in their care, extremely vulnerable. Without doubt, ageing, its human rights challenges and its feminization constitute an unprecedented shift in the social fabric of all societies, with far-reaching consequences.

Addressing the situation

The international community started to highlight the situation of older persons in the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing, adopted at the World Assembly on Ageing in 1982. The 1991 United Nations Principles for Older Persons, the 1992 Global Targets on Ageing for the Year 2001 and the 1992 Proclamation on Ageing further advanced international understanding of essential requirements for the well-being of older persons.

The Political Declaration and the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002, adopted at the Second World Assembly on Ageing, and endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 57/167, reinvigorated the political consensus on an agenda on ageing, emphasizing development and international cooperation and assistance in this area. Since its adoption, the Madrid International Plan has guided the drafting of policies and programmes at the national level, inspired the development of national and regional plans and provided an international framework for dialogue.

The Madrid International Plan of Action

In the Political Declaration adopted in Madrid, Member States reaffirmed their commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, and called for the elimination of age discrimination, neglect, abuse and violence. More specifically, the Madrid International Plan contained guidance on the right to work, the right to health, participation and equality of opportunity throughout life, stressing the importance of the participation of older persons in decision-making processes at all levels.

The priorities set out in the Madrid International Plan of Action include a wide range of issues: equal employment opportunities for all older persons; programmes that enable all workers to acquire social protection and social security, including, where applicable, pensions, disability insurance and health benefits; and sufficient minimum income for all older persons, with particular attention to socially and economically disadvantaged groups. The importance of continuous education, vocational guidance and placement services are also stressed, including for the purpose of maintaining a maximum functional capacity and enhancing public recognition of the productivity and the contributions of older persons. Health is also a key feature of the Madrid Plan of Action. The provisions encompass notions of prevention, equal access to health care, active participation, the impact of HIV/AIDS in respect to older persons and the full functionality of supportive and care-giving environments.

Basic Human Rights

There are numerous obligations vis-à-vis older persons implicit in most core human rights treaties despite the lack of specific provisions focusing on them. Such instruments apply to older persons in the same way as to all other people, providing protection for essential human rights, including the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, freedom from torture, inhuman or degrading treatment and equality before the law as well as for an adequate standard of living without discrimination on any grounds.

Article source: United Nations