Senior Citizens

There is no escaping old age. We may hope to delay it by colouring our hair, using anti-aging products and dressing young, but in the end we must surrender to the natural course of life. We must accept that at one point in our life, we will be done with all the tug-of-war that seems so important to us right now. We must brace ourselves for the time when we will not be capable of working anymore and will have to depend on others for our wellbeing, just like we did when we were children. This is the circle of life.

In Bangladesh, we are set against putting our aged parents in care homes when they can no longer take care of themselves, as it is highly criticised by society. Gazi Mohammad Nurul Kabir, Director General, Department of Social Services, shared an anecdote with The Weekend Independent: “Once, I was contacted by a journalist when he found an old man sitting helplessly under a tree in Barisal. He fed the man and got to learn about his struggles with his children. The man told the journalist that his children do not take care of him properly, and so he left home on his own accord and had no place to go. When I was informed about the situation, I immediately contacted our centres in Barisal and Faridpur. The old man opted to go to our Faridpur home. The journalist also went with him to get him all settled and comfortable. A few days later, I called the deputy director of the institution and learned that the old man’s children had come and begged him to return home with them. I later learned that an arbitration was held at the man’s village and the local chairman and village elders decided to shun the children for their deed. So, they went and begged their father to return home and after much pleading, he agreed to go back with them. This is very common in our country. We have not yet developed into a society where we are too busy for our parents and that is a good thing. Even the poorest of the poor opt to take care of their parents.”

“We have six old people’s homes in six divisions of the country where the elderly can live for free. We provide lodging, medication, food and entertainment and also free treatment. At present, we are able to accommodate 300 elderly people in those facilities. We have an additional 85 Shishu Paribar, or shelter homes, for children. We have plans to accommodate 10 senior citizens in each of these facilities. The reason behind this is that both age groups will benefit from each other. The young people will have guardian- like figures in their life, and the elderly will have someone to nurture and spend their time with. This is a great initiative,” said Kabir.

Apart from all that, senior citizens who are landless or own 25 decimal (a quarter acre) of land or less are eligible for government allowance. Women can avail this from the age of 62, and men from the age of 65. In 2014, President Abdul Hamid declared people aged 60 years and above as senior citizens of the country. According to social welfare ministry figures, there are about 15 million senior citizens in the country now.

Women are usually more vulnerable in our society. Having played the role of a caregiver all her life, most women have little or no savings by the time they reach old age. They become dependent on their children for support.

During a recent visit to Bangladesh Association for the Aged and Institute of Geriatric Medicine (BAAIGM), popularly known as Probin Hitoishi Sangha, at Agargaon, this correspondent ran into a woman aged 78. When asked for her story, she replied: “Will you give me money if I talk to you? I need money to pay my room rent.” She then walked away without another word.

On the other hand, Firoza Biswas, 87, another resident at the facility, was brilliant at recalling her early life and shared many stories of her working days: “I am a mother of five. I lived in the United States until January this year. I was there for a long time, I left after my husband died. I have worked in many different places throughout my life. I have degrees in Library Science and English Literature. I have worked as a family planning field worker with American researchers and health experts. I have worked as a translator at a hospital in Brooklyn, New York. I have had my share of fun and I have lived. Living in the US was tough for me as I am a social being and I love interacting with people. Atlanta (capital of Georgia state) felt like a war-ridden land as I rarely saw another person in sight. Everyone was busy with their life, as it should be, and all my relatives are here in Bangladesh.”

“I have friends and family here and I am free to visit them whenever I want. This place is like a hostel. You pay for rent and food. You can hire help to do your chores. I have a woman coming in twice a day to help me out. I like to cook the curry myself, but she prepares my rice. This is a small room, but I am comfortable here. I have everything I can ask for right at my fingertips and I am content. The hospital is a good addition, so you do not have to go far to seek medical attention when required. I like to read, so I am a frequent visitor to the library as well. The addition of a router for 24-hour internet service keeps me connected to my children and they send me pictures of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren all the time,” added Biswas.

Dr Abdul Baqi, who is a life member of BAAIGM, clarified that the institute is not a government organisation. It is run by a 21-member executive committee. Every three years, an election is held to elect a new committee, under supervision of the Social Welfare Department.

“We have three sections here _ there is the home for the elderly, one is the hospital section, and then there is the Institute of Geriatric Medicine. In our old home facility, we have two types of accommodation, one is a single room, the other is shared. The single room facility is a little bit costly, it can cost up to Tk6,000 per month, and a shared room costs around Tk1,500. We have an appointed chef. Normally, it costs Tk2,500 for three meals a day every month. Our residents bear their own accommodation and food costs. Treatment and medicines are subsidised. Those who are below 55, pay Tk30 for our outdoor ticket, and those who are above 55, pay Tk15. We consider anyone above 55 as a senior citizen. A prerequisite for our residents is that they need to be somewhat fit and be able to meet their basic needs. We are not able to look after bed-ridden individuals as we do not have that kind of staff. In case of an emergency, for a certain period of time, our doctors and nurses can help. Other than that, one needs to hire someone to stay with them,” Baqi said.

“The hospital has 50 beds and we have both outdoor and indoor facilities. There is a misconception that this hospital is only for the elderly. Although our signboard says it is a hospital for the elderly, both young and old people can avail treatment here. We have a senior doctor, Luttfar Rahman, who mainly looks after the geriatric patients. Most of these patients come with joint pains, shoulder pains, etc. We have a well-equipped physiotherapy centre to take care of them. We have trained doctors and trained paramedics. In the Institute of Geriatric Medicine, a four-year paramedic course is offered,” he said.

“I am 72, I get two days off from my current workplace and I put it to good use. On Saturdays, I go to the Institute of Geriatrics Medicine and teach a class.  I normally teach anatomy and physiology to beginners. I have worked as a government employee for 32 years and out of those, I have taught for 16 years. I retired in 2004. The bottom line is I love teaching.  Those who graduate from here become paramedics. We offer three courses _ a four-year diploma course on medicine, diploma in pathology and diploma in physiotherapy. This institute was established in 1960, and back then the idea was to teach geriatric medicine, but specialised geriatric medicine courses are not taught here. This is because they follow a particular curriculum, which is prescribed by the Bangladesh Technical Education Board. Since this institute is situated within the hospital for the elderly and the old home, they get hands-on experience by working with older patients,” Baqi added.

Child and Old Age Home, located at Kallyanpur, is a private nursing home for senior citizens. At the moment, the centre houses 15 residents, who include five men and 10 women. Kishor Bala, 24, a staff at the private home, said: “Most of the elderly people living here are sick, and cannot fend for themselves. The cost of their meals isn’t much, but the medicines required are quite expensive. We do not have any sponsors, but we have a few local donors who help us out, as well as some social media pages, the donations amount to about Tk12,000 monthly. Our accommodation cost alone is Tk68,000, so we collect the rest from our sister organisation, named Milton Home Care.”

Milton Home Care Companion Services offers different types of services.  Some of those services are in-home companion care to assist seniors, new and expectant parents, and other individuals who may need extra help around the house. Their services are available on an ‘as-needed’ basis, with no minimum time constraints. Miton Home Care is also located at Kallyanpur and provides nursing facilities.

Milton Samadder, managing director of both the organisations, said: “We started the organisations in 2012, but due to some problems in the paperwork, the Child and Old Age Care officially started its work from 2014. I was a nurse once and one day I decided that I wanted to do more for our elderly population. There are many reasons as to why people hire us or opt for our services. The main reason is many of our elders do not get the nursing they need from their loved ones. It is because due to busy lives, not everyone can make time to look after their dependents. This doesn’t mean they do not love them, so many opt for our services. We charge Tk600 per day. Every day, our nurses spend 12 hours with the patients and we have a monthly package at Tk18,000. We have ward boys, doctors, as well as registered nurses. We have 40 staff working in our organisation. Till date, we have provided our services to more than 400 elderly and sick people.”

Senior Citizen Society, a recently formed organisation, is working towards making our surroundings elderly-friendly. In a telephone conversation with Abu Baker Siddique, secretary general of the organisation, he said: “Our primary objective is to ensure the right and privileges of the senior citizens through awareness building programmes. We also want special care readily available for them. For example, our building codes do not have provisions that would make them elderly-friendly. There is a building owned by Rajuk in Uttara that is over three-storied, but they do not have an elevator. How will a person suffering from joint pains and stiffness go there? We have foot over-bridges all over the city, but it is unrealistic for the elderly to use these bridges as the steps are quite steep. There should be special zebra crossings on the streets for them. We want a one-stop centre for the elderly where they will get all necessary services. For example, what if there was a space where the elderly could go for banking, healthcare and counselling, all under the same roof? That would make life easier for them, as our traffic situation makes it unbearable to run multiple errands in a day.”

“We are in talks with banks, hospitals and supermarkets to have separate counters for the elderly so that they do not have to wait in line. Trust Family Mall in Sector 3, Uttara, has a separate counter for the elderly. Uttara branches of banks such as Janata and Sonali have already introduced separate counters and sitting arrangement for senior citizens, and Shahjalal Bank has given us their word they will follow suit. Some hospitals in the capital, such as Ibn Sina, Shin Shin Japan Hospital and Crescent Hospital, have agreed to give 30 to 35 percent discount to the elderly. More people from various professions are joining our ranks every day and we are hopeful that we will be able to bring about some substantial changes for the betterment of our elderly population,” Siddique added. n

Photos: File, Courtesy

Senior Citizens

There is no escaping old age. We may hope to delay it by colouring our hair, using anti-aging products and dressing young, but in the end we must surrender to the natural course of life. We must accept that at one point in our life, we will be done with all the tug-of-war that seems so important to us right now. We must brace ourselves for the time when we will not be capable of working anymore and will have to depend on others for our wellbeing, just like we did when we were children. This is the circle of life. In Bangladesh, we are set against putting our aged parents in care homes when they can no longer take care of themselves, as it is highly criticised by society. Gazi Mohammad Nurul Kabir, Director General, Department of Social Services, shared an anecdote with The Weekend Independent: Once, I was contacted by a journalist when he found an old man sitting helplessly under a tree in Barisal. He fed the man and got to learn about his struggles with his children. The man told the journalist that his children do not take care of him properly, and so he left home on his own accord and had no place to go. When I was informed about the situation, I immediately contacted our centres in Barisal and Faridpur. The old man opted to go to our Faridpur home. The journalist also went with him to get him all settled and comfortable. A few days later, I called the deputy director of the institution and learned that the old mans children had come and begged him to return home with them. I later learned that an arbitration was held at the mans village and the local chairman and village elders decided to shun the children for their deed. So, they went and begged their father to return home and after much pleading, he agreed to go back with them. This is very common in our country. We have not yet developed into a society where we are too busy for our parents and that is a good thing. Even the poorest of the poor opt to take care of their parents. We have six old peoples homes in six divisions of the country where the elderly can live for free. We provide lodging, medication, food and entertainment and also free treatment. At present, we are able to accommodate 300 elderly people in those facilities. We have an additional 85 Shishu Paribar, or shelter homes, for children. We have plans to accommodate 10 senior citizens in each of these facilities. The reason behind this is that both age groups will benefit from each other. The young people will have guardian- like figures in their life, and the elderly will have someone to nurture and spend their time with. This is a great initiative, said Kabir. Apart from all that, senior citizens who are landless or own 25 decimal (a quarter acre) of land or less are eligible for government allowance. Women can avail this from the age of 62, and men from the age of 65. In 2014, President Abdul Hamid declared people aged 60 years and above as senior citizens of the country. According to social welfare ministry figures, there are about 15 million senior citizens in the country now. Women are usually more vulnerable in our society. Having played the role of a caregiver all her life, most women have little or no savings by the time they reach old age. They become dependent on their children for support. During a recent visit to Bangladesh Association for the Aged and Institute of Geriatric Medicine (BAAIGM), popularly known as Probin Hitoishi Sangha, at Agargaon, this correspondent ran into a woman aged 78. When asked for her story, she replied: Will you give me money if I talk to you? I need money to pay my room rent. She then walked away without another word. On the other hand, Firoza Biswas, 87, another resident at the facility, was brilliant at recalling her early life and shared many stories of her working days: I am a mother of five. I lived in the United States until January this year. I was there for a long time, I left after my husband died. I have worked in many different places throughout my life. I have degrees in Library Science and English Literature. I have worked as a family planning field worker with American researchers and health experts. I have worked as a translator at a hospital in Brooklyn, New York. I have had my share of fun and I have lived. Living in the US was tough for me as I am a social being and I love interacting with people. Atlanta (capital of Georgia state) felt like a war-ridden land as I rarely saw another person in sight. Everyone was busy with their life, as it should be, and all my relatives are here in Bangladesh. I have friends and family here and I am free to visit them whenever I want. This place is like a hostel. You pay for rent and food. You can hire help to do your chores. I have a woman coming in twice a day to help me out. I like to cook the curry myself, but she prepares my rice. This is a small room, but I am comfortable here. I have everything I can ask for right at my fingertips and I am content. The hospital is a good addition, so you do not have to go far to seek medical attention when required. I like to read, so I am a frequent visitor to the library as well. The addition of a router for 24-hour internet service keeps me connected to my children and they send me pictures of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren all the time, added Biswas. Dr Abdul Baqi, who is a life member of BAAIGM, clarified that the institute is not a government organisation. It is run by a 21-member executive committee. Every three years, an election is held to elect a new committee, under supervision of the Social Welfare Department. We have three sections here _ there is the home for the elderly, one is the hospital section, and then there is the Institute of Geriatric Medicine. In our old home facility, we have two types of accommodation, one is a single room, the other is shared. The single room facility is a little bit costly, it can cost up to Tk6,000 per month, and a shared room costs around Tk1,500. We have an appointed chef. Normally, it costs Tk2,500 for three meals a day every month. Our residents bear their own accommodation and food costs. Treatment and medicines are subsidised. Those who are below 55, pay Tk30 for our outdoor ticket, and those who are above 55, pay Tk15. We consider anyone above 55 as a senior citizen. A prerequisite for our residents is that they need to be somewhat fit and be able to meet their basic needs. We are not able to look after bed-ridden individuals as we do not have that kind of staff. In case of an emergency, for a certain period of time, our doctors and nurses can help. Other than that, one needs to hire someone to stay with them, Baqi said. The hospital has 50 beds and we have both outdoor and indoor facilities. There is a misconception that this hospital is only for the elderly. Although our signboard says it is a hospital for the elderly, both young and old people can avail treatment here. We have a senior doctor, Luttfar Rahman, who mainly looks after the geriatric patients. Most of these patients come with joint pains, shoulder pains, etc. We have a well-equipped physiotherapy centre to take care of them. We have trained doctors and trained paramedics. In the Institute of Geriatric Medicine, a four-year paramedic course is offered, he said. I am 72, I get two days off from my current workplace and I put it to good use. On Saturdays, I go to the Institute of Geriatrics Medicine and teach a class. I normally teach anatomy and physiology to beginners. I have worked as a government employee for 32 years and out of those, I have taught for 16 years. I retired in 2004. The bottom line is I love teaching. Those who graduate from here become paramedics. We offer three courses _ a four-year diploma course on medicine, diploma in pathology and diploma in physiotherapy. This institute was established in 1960, and back then the idea was to teach geriatric medicine, but specialised geriatric medicine courses are not taught here. This is because they follow a particular curriculum, which is prescribed by the Bangladesh Technical Education Board. Since this institute is situated within the hospital for the elderly and the old home, they get hands-on experience by working with older patients, Baqi added. Child and Old Age Home, located at Kallyanpur, is a private nursing home for senior citizens. At the moment, the centre houses 15 residents, who include five men and 10 women. Kishor Bala, 24, a staff at the private home, said: Most of the elderly people living here are sick, and cannot fend for themselves. The cost of their meals isnt much, but the medicines required are quite expensive. We do not have any sponsors, but we have a few local donors who help us out, as well as some social media pages, the donations amount to about Tk12,000 monthly. Our accommodation cost alone is Tk68,000, so we collect the rest from our sister organisation, named Milton Home Care. Milton Home Care Companion Services offers different types of services. Some of those services are in-home companion care to assist seniors, new and expectant parents, and other individuals who may need extra help around the house. Their services are available on an as-needed basis, with no minimum time constraints. Miton Home Care is also located at Kallyanpur and provides nursing facilities. Milton Samadder, managing director of both the organisations, said: We started the organisations in 2012, but due to some problems in the paperwork, the Child and Old Age Care officially started its work from 2014. I was a nurse once and one day I decided that I wanted to do more for our elderly population. There are many reasons as to why people hire us or opt for our services. The main reason is many of our elders do not get the nursing they need from their loved ones. It is because due to busy lives, not everyone can make time to look after their dependents. This doesnt mean they do not love them, so many opt for our services. We charge Tk600 per day. Every day, our nurses spend 12 hours with the patients and we have a monthly package at Tk18,000. We have ward boys, doctors, as well as registered nurses. We have 40 staff working in our organisation. Till date, we have provided our services to more than 400 elderly and sick people. Senior Citizen Society, a recently formed organisation, is working towards making our surroundings elderly-friendly. In a telephone conversation with Abu Baker Siddique, secretary general of the organisation, he said: Our primary objective is to ensure the right and privileges of the senior citizens through awareness building programmes. We also want special care readily available for them. For example, our building codes do not have provisions that would make them elderly-friendly. There is a building owned by Rajuk in Uttara that is over three-storied, but they do not have an elevator. How will a person suffering from joint pains and stiffness go there? We have foot over-bridges all over the city, but it is unrealistic for the elderly to use these bridges as the steps are quite steep. There should be special zebra crossings on the streets for them. We want a one-stop centre for the elderly where they will get all necessary services. For example, what if there was a space where the elderly could go for banking, healthcare and counselling, all under the same roof? That would make life easier for them, as our traffic situation makes it unbearable to run multiple errands in a day. We are in talks with banks, hospitals and supermarkets to have separate counters for the elderly so that they do not have to wait in line. Trust Family Mall in Sector 3, Uttara, has a separate counter for the elderly. Uttara branches of banks such as Janata and Sonali have already introduced separate counters and sitting arrangement for senior citizens, and Shahjalal Bank has given us their word they will follow suit. Some hospitals in the capital, such as Ibn Sina, Shin Shin Japan Hospital and Crescent Hospital, have agreed to give 30 to 35 percent discount to the elderly. More people from various professions are joining our ranks every day and we are hopeful that we will be able to bring about some substantial changes for the betterment of our elderly population, Siddique added. n Photos: File, Courtesy