By Ibrahim S. Bangura
The Dorwontony Organization for the Aged (DoFA), a not-for-profit organization in Freetown, will on Saturday October 12th, 2024, hold a pageant show titled, ‘Miss Old is Gold’. The aim of the pageant is to raise public awareness on the need to care for the aged. The contestants must be at least 60 years and above, and the show will be held at the City Hall in the centre of Freetown.
Five communities in Freetown will send contestants involved. They are Susan’s Bay, which will be represented by Aminata Sesay; Congo Town, by Kembay Conteh; Kroo Bay and Magazine Cut, represented by Isatu Bongo Sesay; Yams Farm, represented by Kadie Johnson and Aberdeen, represented by Camella Kargbo.
According to Doreen Barrie, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder of the organization, they aim at using the platform to showcase the skills and talents of the elderly, and added that the forthcoming event would honor the elderly, help build their confidence and respect, ease their stress and raise awareness about them.
“We are also using this platform to expose the aged to some of the things they missed while they were young. Also, we want to place them at a high premium in the society serving as a reminder to the general public that we have old people that we need to look after. We believe that even at an old age, one can do a lot of things if the platform and the opportunity are available,” Barrie said.
Barrie said that every contestant would have a beautiful prize at the end of the show.
She went on to state that the event would serve as a tool for changing how society thinks about the elderly.
“We want to put the aged at the forefront; give them the opportunity to mingle; … to voice out some of the things affecting them in their various societies,” she said sympathetically. According to her, the idea of holding such an event came about when DoFA started advocacy and support some years ago.
“We started looking for ways as to how we could contribute to the development of not only the world, but also the aged people. We thought it fit that one of the ways in which we could support the aged was by bringing such an initiative. By doing so, we will be able to know the challenges affecting the aged in our various communities,” she explained.
Barrie encouraged people to come in large numbers to support the aged on the day of the event.
The event will be sponsored by many renowned institutions, including the Rokel Commercial Banks, DSTV, SLBC, AYV, etc. DoFA was found some years ago to cater for the interests, welfare and dignity of the elderly in Sierra Leone through advocacy, legal aid and livelihood support. The organization is aimed at ensuring that the elderly is loved and cared for by all in society. DoFA was established to provide suitable shelter to house aged people not receiving family support; to raise public awareness about the need for care and attention to the aged; to effectively lobby relevant authorities for improvement in the lives of pensioners; to advocate for a free health care scheme for the aged; to ensure that the aged have access to justice and legal aid; to remove less privileged aged people off the streets through strategic partnerships with old people’s homes, and to undertake regular community outreach activities and programs on care for the aged.