After my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and while caring for him, my eyes were opened to the plight of the elderly in Nepal. If this was how difficult it was for me to care for my father, what of those families that don’t have the resources? I realised that getting old in Nepal is a curse not just for this generation of older people, but for upcoming generations as well.
We pride ourselves in the respect we accord senior citizens: there is a premium in our culture for attending to older relatives. But the family safety net is collapsing as men migrate and joint families disintegrate. There are no policies and laws to protect older people in our society.
In 2009 after my father passed, I quit my job and opened a geriatric centre. It didn’t work because families that consigned their elderly to an old-age home were ostracised because of the social stigma of abandoning their parents. Others would come to the centre and demand to be cared for free. This notion that old-age homes should be run like charities stems from the government’s neglect of senior citizens and the homes being synonymous with helplessness and poverty.
As Nepal’s population ages, we need more knowledge and understanding of the elderly and their health care needs, through education and advocacy about care. This is much more important than opening unsustainable and poorly-staffed old people’s homes.