Kibera Elderly Day Care Center

The Issue among the elderly is neglect; feeling abandoned by family, society and the government. Kibera Elderly Day Care was formed in 1989 by Agnes Kariuki, and registered under Ministry of Gender and social services. It was formed to react to the needs of the people who were deemed not important in the urban settlement in the capital city. In line with the vision “To provide a center for the old and the very destitute in our society where they can meet and discuss the issues affecting them and get the necessary help required..” activities set out for the world habitat day celebration, is to strive for the day care to be self reliant. The center provides meals to 60-100 people on a regular basis ( every Tuesday and Thursday) with a membership of five hundred (500) people all above the age of seventy years (70) which consists of men, women and just slightly younger widows. Among the elderly, the social activities permeates through the coming together to just share a meal but also the opportunity to socialize with peers, engage in games, undertake craft activities to generate some income and gain some spiritual fulfillment given by the associated minister in the community to facilitate the service.

The fact that structural analysis observes the stakeholders involved with reference to the Neglected elderly in Kibera Informal settlement are: Government agencies made up of the chief of area, the district officer who heads the affairs of the district mandated by the executive arm, persons above the age of seventy years (70), and Social workers. They make up a body where decisions are made, policies are formulated which will impact the social-economic activities of the elderly persons. However due to rise in the Cost of Living as highlighted at the first UN-Habitat assembly held in Nairobi, Kenya on the 27th-3st May 2019 under the theme "Innovation for better lives" has made it hard to live in urban areas for poor families and take care of the elderly. The government ratified on the African Union policy on the elderly above seventy (70) years, which entitles them to bursary without any restriction. The effect to the rural-urban migration led to families selling off their land to be able to afford to live in urban areas or widowed women were abandoned by their in-laws at the passing of the husband.

The treatment and attitude towards the elderly in Kibera has been negative. These societal discrimination and attitudes has been significant in the physical and mental deterioration of the older adults. They perceive their lives to be less valuable putting them at risk of depression and social isolation. The community depicts older people as frail, dependent and out of touch. They are discriminated against through systems, policies and structures. In view of this, the elders have embraced the belief that gray hair is a crown of splendor as written down in the book of Proverbs found in the Bible scriptures. In the face of extremes, the elderly community in Kibera feel blessed. According to the bible, which is a strong spiritual belief among the community, ones life is numbered for seventy years and for them who are eighty years (80), those are bonus years and largely a blessing from God. The Kibera elderly have a lot to share with each other and have embraced the alternative family where offering wisdom and words of encouragement, and compassion to those they reach out to. The more agile amongst them take the initiative to visit the very old sick and disabled. Some find themselves parenting again to the grandchildren with wisdom, compassion.

Action one (1) Zero hunger: Provide adequate food and increase feeding from weekly to daily and decentralize feeding centers and ability to provide food to take home. This is done through the appeal of food donations and voluntary service for the outreach. Resourcing requires a cash donation of 40,000 shillings weekly, and volunteers.

Action two (2) Planning Visits for Sustainable communities: The activity is to visits the elderly, spend time with them by developing games that involves their mental and physical rigor at the district officer grounds. Resources required for this activity is transport, sundries, footballs and other sporting facility.

Action three (3) Good Health and Well being: Government funded universal insurance for the elderly, regular check ups and subsidized treatment. How it will be monitored is through availability of universal health insurance for the elderly, availability of geriatric specialists and available subsidized health insurance for the elderly. Resources are the existing health centers, and outreach for partnerships for medical camps to be conducted.

Action (4) Decent work and Economic development: The activities focus on providing decent work to the elderly for the purpose of sustainability of the elder persons. Well equipped and furnished workshops for their craft work such as ornament making, weaving. This will involve partnering with UN-Habitat and bodies such as the Kenya Private Sector Alliance and the Kenya Tourism Board to place their product in the market internationally and support the global project which is to provide every global citizen with equal opportunities and human rights.