RISSNAC Introduces Adopt-a-Granny Programme In Rivers

To tackle increasing challenges faced by the elderly in the society, the Rivers State Stakeholders In Ageing Consultative Forum has introduced a scheme under which people can volunteer to adopt and care for elderly people in the society.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the 2022 International Day of Older Persons in Port Harcourt, the Co-Chair of the Rivers State Stakeholders in Ageing Consultative Forum (RISSNAC), Prof. Hope Belgam, said the scheme is tagged: Adopt a Granny.
Prof. Belgam, who said volunteers under the scheme could be under the age of 60 or even above, lamented that many senior citizens are being left to loneliness. “Loneliness is one of the problems of retirement or being older. When you are alone, all the little pains show up; all the needles and aches manifest themselves,” she said.
She however said that younger people can now volunteer to be visiting old women and men in their streets and neighbourhoods to give them their supplies of news and necessaries. “Volunteerism can give you another career,” she said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs. Uchechukwu Uriri, listed other challenges faced by older people to include creased vision and hearing; forgetfulness, economic challenges; sexism; elder abuse; environmental challenges; health challenges and social isolation.
She said a multidimensional approach was needed to tackle these challenges of the elderly, noting that many elderly people who might be retired could still be useful to society in diverse ways and effort should be made to engage them in their areas of competencies.
Dr. Francis Enebe, the Consultant Geriatrician at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, said a unit, one out of three in Nigeria, where older persons are treated has been established at the teaching hospital. He said the unit is a one-stop shop for all the things that older people needing medical care.
The Chairman of Rivers State branch of of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners, Chief Collins Nwankwo, regretted that though the constitution made adequate provisions for retirees, retirees have been denied their entitlements by people in government.
The Rivers State Head of Service, Mr. Rufus Godwin, said the state government had everything retired people need to process their benefits and urged establishments to reduce the stress that retirees go through to get their entitlements.