More from Navamani Peter

It is reported that in 2022, there are 149 million people in India over 60 and by end of 2050 the number will double. It’s alarming to know that the number of senior citizens is on the rise without enough facilities to accommodate them. We do not have enough retirement homes or senior-living homes to care for them. In rural areas, people live in joint families. Communities there take care of each other, so it’s a blessing for the elderly to live a comfortable life. However, this age-old custom of living as joint families is gradually diminishing in towns and cities. The idea of the nuclear family is becoming more commonplace, and young people go out for jobs so no one is at home to care for their elderly relatives.

Some families which can afford to employ caregivers. This is where the Church can play a vital role. But very few churches can afford to maintain retirement homes. Maintaining these homes requires a big budget from the churches. Where I live, Roman Catholic Churches have good programs for senior citizens, including homes that can accommodate seniors without funds to pay for their stay. The church where I worship has a good program for seniors as well. Seniors are provided with financial help for medical bills, we offer virtual fellowship and Bible study, help them with meals, and visit them. Pastors administer Holy Communion at home when they are not able to attend church physically. Some of our members are critically ill, and some of our congregation members gather at the church daily to pray for the needs of the people.

Keeping senior friends and their needs in mind, the interchurch women’s fellowship group which I am a part of organized a seminar on palliative care. Since most of us are senior citizens, we invited some young people to participate in this seminar. Some are already caregivers for their parents, grandparents, or sick relatives. We all know how stressful it is for families to deal with members of the family who are ill or dying. Therefore, this program suggests that they can get help from people with special skills such as doctors, nurses, social workers, spiritual advisors, and trained volunteers.

Some of our young people expressed a desire to become volunteers or paid caregivers, so we plan to help them for such training. We will give them all the support that they need. This will be our future program, as we already have a training program for women in one of our church hospitals. I hope our efforts will be successful.