Living on the shady side

Old people in Africa are lucky…

The family members gather the fireplace. Grandma has made Soup in a massive pot stirred. The children hang on to grandpas every word, while he tells them stories from the past. That is the cliche about large families and solidarity between generations in Africa.

But the reality looks different.

More and more young people move from their villages into Cities looking for work. Many leave their country and continent striving for a wealthy life abroad. Their elder are left behind, along with the sick and needy. Traditional family structures decay. In most African countries there is no system of geratic care like we know it in Germany. Many elders lead a miserable existence without medical assistance, in great poverty and without sufficent Support. The organisation AltenHilfe Afrika (Geriatic Help Africa) aims at implementating exemplary projects to show how the situation of the elderly on the African contionent can be improved.

Living on the shady side

Visitors to Martha cannot be sensitive. The old woman lives in a small town in a West African country. For years She suffered from diabetes, she has already many of strokes and is barely able to leave her bed any more. Your room is sparse, a toilet does not exist, neither does running water. The room smells of faeces, her clothes and sheets are dirty. Medical care is very rarely offered to her. She would need regular shots of insulin, but the therapy for diabetes´is unknown to Martha. As a result, her suffering remains untreated, and in her little room she awaits death. Many elders in Africa lead such unworthy lives. They lack medical care, regular attention and equipment, such as wheelchairs, walkers or portable toilets. In most African countries, the national healthcare systems are overwhelmed with the situatio and private initiatives are rare. That is what we want to change. We are convinced that the situation of many elderly people can be improved – by organizing on-site help and through dedicated support from abroad.