Kenya: Helping Older People In The Wake Of Violence

[Guest guest]

Kenya: Helping Older People In The Wake Of Violence

Date: 17 Jan 2008 - 3:00 PST

Help the Aged and HelpAge International are working in partnership

with HelpAge Kenya and the Kenya Red Cross Society to alleviate the

plight of older people caught up in post-election violence in Kenya.

The organisations have already distributed appropriate food to many

hundreds of older people, and are working to ensure that other relief

agencies and the authorities recognise and address the particular

needs of older people in this emergency.

Currently, in and around the capital Nairobi, hundreds of older

people are receiving emergency food because they have been displaced

by the violence, or it has prevented them from earning money through

their small businesses.

Older residents of camps set up to accommodate people fleeing the

violence report that their age/needs are not registered by the

authorities and that as a result their needs are sidelined.

In Kenya, as in many emergency situations, older people are among the

most vulnerable, but they also have a positive role to play. For

instance in Nakuru, a town in the Rift Valley where deaths due to

post-election violence have also been recorded, dozens of older

people are hosting displaced families and relatives.

As well as recording how and where older people have been affected by

violence and assisting them HelpAge International and HelpAge Kenya

staff will advise both governmental and non-governmental agencies

caring for internally displaced people on:

- the need to register adults at camps for internally displaced

people by age bracket;

- ensuring that health facilities set up in the camps can recognise

the particular medical needs of older people where they differ from

other people's;

- the need for particular psycho-social support for older people;

- recognising and supporting older people who are caring for other

family or community members;

- the potential for older people to play a valuable role in the

displaced community setting.

Further information on the needs and roles of older people in

emergency situations and disasters can be found in the World

Disasters Report 2007: tackling discrimination in disasters. HelpAge

International was invited to contribute to the chapter on older

people which says discrimination by governments, humanitarian

organisations and communities prevents them from realising their

rights to disaster response and resources for recovery.

Notes

1. Correct statistics on older people who have been displaced

facilitate planning for the right interventions to address their

needs. For example, older people can have trouble lining up for food

rations and may be easily injured if jostled in the rush for

provisions; general food rations may not be suitable for them if they

have trouble chewing or swallowing.

2. Help the Aged and HelpAge International are working together to

improve the lives of disadvantaged older people around the world.

3. HelpAge International has a vision of a world in which all older

people fulfil their potential to lead dignified, healthy and secure

lives. HelpAge International is a global network striving for the

rights of disadvantaged older people to economic and physical

security; healthcare and social services; and support in their

caregiving role across the generations. http://www.helpage.org.

4. Help the Aged is the charity fighting to free disadvantaged older

people in the UK and overseas from poverty, isolation, neglect and

ageism. Help the Aged urgently needs donations and support to help it

in the increasingly challenging fight to free disadvantaged older

people from poverty, isolation and neglect.

[Guest guest]

Kenya: Helping Older People In The Wake Of Violence

Date: 17 Jan 2008 - 3:00 PST

Help the Aged and HelpAge International are working in partnership

with HelpAge Kenya and the Kenya Red Cross Society to alleviate the

plight of older people caught up in post-election violence in Kenya.

The organisations have already distributed appropriate food to many

hundreds of older people, and are working to ensure that other relief

agencies and the authorities recognise and address the particular

needs of older people in this emergency.

Currently, in and around the capital Nairobi, hundreds of older

people are receiving emergency food because they have been displaced

by the violence, or it has prevented them from earning money through

their small businesses.

Older residents of camps set up to accommodate people fleeing the

violence report that their age/needs are not registered by the

authorities and that as a result their needs are sidelined.

In Kenya, as in many emergency situations, older people are among the

most vulnerable, but they also have a positive role to play. For

instance in Nakuru, a town in the Rift Valley where deaths due to

post-election violence have also been recorded, dozens of older

people are hosting displaced families and relatives.

As well as recording how and where older people have been affected by

violence and assisting them HelpAge International and HelpAge Kenya

staff will advise both governmental and non-governmental agencies

caring for internally displaced people on:

- the need to register adults at camps for internally displaced

people by age bracket;

- ensuring that health facilities set up in the camps can recognise

the particular medical needs of older people where they differ from

other people's;

- the need for particular psycho-social support for older people;

- recognising and supporting older people who are caring for other

family or community members;

- the potential for older people to play a valuable role in the

displaced community setting.

Further information on the needs and roles of older people in

emergency situations and disasters can be found in the World

Disasters Report 2007: tackling discrimination in disasters. HelpAge

International was invited to contribute to the chapter on older

people which says discrimination by governments, humanitarian

organisations and communities prevents them from realising their

rights to disaster response and resources for recovery.

Notes

1. Correct statistics on older people who have been displaced

facilitate planning for the right interventions to address their

needs. For example, older people can have trouble lining up for food

rations and may be easily injured if jostled in the rush for

provisions; general food rations may not be suitable for them if they

have trouble chewing or swallowing.

2. Help the Aged and HelpAge International are working together to

improve the lives of disadvantaged older people around the world.

3. HelpAge International has a vision of a world in which all older

people fulfil their potential to lead dignified, healthy and secure

lives. HelpAge International is a global network striving for the

rights of disadvantaged older people to economic and physical

security; healthcare and social services; and support in their

caregiving role across the generations. http://www.helpage.org.

4. Help the Aged is the charity fighting to free disadvantaged older

people in the UK and overseas from poverty, isolation, neglect and

ageism. Help the Aged urgently needs donations and support to help it

in the increasingly challenging fight to free disadvantaged older

people from poverty, isolation and neglect.