Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS is an organisation concerned with the plight Of older persons who are affected in some way by the HIV/AIDS~ pandemic which renders them more susceptible to the effects of poverty. GAPA provides coping mechanisms for grandmothers and their families to make the best of the situation they find themselves in.
We request that two of our representatives, Mrs Fisher and Mrs Sohena be given the opportunity to address the portfolio committee about the following issues.
1. Since the advent of democracy when we expected that our daily lives would have been made easier, we have noticed no change in access to services, only that we are experiencing a lack or respect from service providers who appear to not to care that we are slower than the younger people.
Access to social services is very difficult Long queues mean that we have to be at offices very early in the morning. Social workers do not have the time to listen to our problems. Often we are told to go away and make another appointment- We request that more social workers are appointed and that special counselling services be made available solely for the use of older persons.
Abuse of older persons is common. Friends and neighbours often know about the abuse and are too frightened to confront the abuser. The police either never respond to calls or make the situation worse by not removing the abuser We request that it be made illegal not to report abuse so that the communities become used to reporting abuse and older persons are protected.
Treatment at community health centres continues to make the clinics unattractive places for older persons to attend. Long queues result in having to wake up a: 4am to get in line for doors that open around 7am. Once inside there is no special care taken of older persons. We request that older persons have special clinics to address their needs. Trying to register at a CHC as a newcomer to town from the rural areas is very difficult without a medical history in the urban area This results in older persons going without prophylactic treatment which would ultimately prevent conditions such as heart disease and strokes We request the presence of one person at a CHC who would be able to assist older persons to take advantage of the services offered.
2. More and more older persons are finding that they are becoming responsible for the care of their grandchildren as their children die due to the effects of HFV/AIDS. The burden of looking after extended families is made worse by the high unemployment levels of younger people within their households. We request that programs that promote intergenerational understanding and mutual respect be put in place. We support the proposed bill when it states ~ older persons become exempt from paying property rates and taxes. Up until now it is usually only the older persons who pay such bills because authorities use scare tactics and older persons fear eviction more than younger people. We request that older persons, who care for extended families, be given priority in the allocation of affordable accommodation within the communities where they chose to live.
We further request that the submissions be made in isiXhosa.
The bill, in general, deals mainly with the provision of old age homes and the requirements of residents in these homes. We wish to stay in our own homes, in our own communities for the whole of our lives. Moving to a residential home would be the worse thing that could happen to us. If the bill could afford older persons, living in their own homes access to the sort of services that are available in old age homes then the lives of older persons in South Africa would be made fulfilling and quality of life would be ensured.