The Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone through the Directorate of Gender and Children’s Affairs on Friday, October 4, 2024, have an interactive dialogue with older persons at King George VI Memorial Home at Grafton.
The dialogue was in commemoration of this year’s International Day for the Aged on October 1, 2024. The day was set aside to raise awareness about the rights, challenges, and contributions of older persons worldwide.
Older persons in Sierra Leone often face a range of challenges, including poverty, inadequate healthcare, age-related discrimination, and social isolation and exclusion.
According to the Director of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Madam Gloria Bayoh, the country does not have a culture of taking older persons to safe homes.
She said it was a good initiative to have such a home to take good care of older persons in the country adding “Those without the required resources normally left their parents to suffer and some even abandoned them at home.”
During the dialogue, older persons in the home were allowed to share their experiences on issues affecting their well-being and how younger folks can be of help to them.
Many complained about neglect, particularly from those who had brought them to the home but failed to provide support or visit them.
Seventy-years-old Cynthia Maddy said, “I have been abandoned by my relatives since I was brought to this home. Nobody is picking up my call and this has led to me losing my speech.”
Madam Bayoh assured them of the Commission’s commitment to addressing issues affecting their human rights as older persons.
At the end of the dialogue, the Commission donated some sanitary items to help upkeep the home.
Chairperson of the Management Committee, Rev. Dr. Olivia A. Wesley thanked the Commission for the visit and support and urged that they look into the issues affecting older persons in the home.