They say age is just a number. They are. But as each year has its own charm, so does its challenge. And the challenge for people over 65 is how to fill the extra free time. Because of this, many feel useless and often see themselves as a burden.
Population aging is one of the global problems. Life expectancy at birth now exceeds 75 years in half of the world’s countries, 25 years higher than in 1950. By 2030, it is predicted that the elderly will outnumber the world’s young, and this increase will be fastest in developing countries.
A longer life brings with it opportunities, not only for the elderly and their families, but also for societies as a whole. The extra years provide an opportunity to pursue new activities such as further education, a new career or pursuing a long-neglected passion. Older people also contribute in many ways to their families and communities. However, the extent of this contribution depends on the opportunities the system creates for them.
The International Day of Older Persons, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1990, calls on states to ensure adaptive living conditions for older persons, enabling them to participate in society in accordance with their physical and intellectual abilities. However, our country has failed in that field as well. There is no systemic care for the elderly. It mainly boils down to the activities of non-governmental organizations.
For aging with dignity
The International Day of Older Persons, October 1, this year was marked around the world under the slogan – Aging with dignity: The importance of strengthening the system of care and support for the elderly around the world.
In Breza, this day was marked by an exhibition of works on canvas and glass by the participants in the project “Years are just a number…Who”, the performance of sevdalinka and a festive, joint lunch for all project participants and guests.
Association Center of Positive Practice (CPP) has been implementing this project for 4 months. On the past 15 Saturdays, art and music workshops, recreational exercise, and conversations with guests were organized, including the mayor of the municipality of Breza Vedad Jusić, meteorologist Nedim Sladić, and other interesting guests.
All with the aim of showing the elderly that they are not alone.
“As a municipality with a large number of elderly people, their healthy and active aging should be a priority. There are more than 2,000 elderly people in Breza. There is no systemic care for them. The fact is that there is a great need for the care of these people, but the problem is that there are no organized activities for them. Through this project, we wanted to show what we can do – the local president of the Association, Ilma Omerhodžić, explains to Snaga.
Because, as one of the project participants, Indira Lukačević, said, our needs are not the same at 40 and 65 years old.
“I retired a year ago and although I have grandchildren, family, friends, I had a lot of free time left that I didn’t know what to do with. When I finish all my duties, I need some socializing, like all of us. This is an opportunity for us to fill our time, but also to share the experience that we have gained all our lives. This is something Breza needed and I sincerely hope that this project will grow into a Center for Healthy Aging,” says Indira.
Sena Osmanović has not missed a single workshop in the past four months. No painting, no singing, no conversations with guests, but no training. For her, Saturday afternoon was reserved exclusively for hanging out with other project participants.
“Here we learned a lot, expanded our knowledge with the guests we talked to, discovered some new talents, and most importantly got to know each other. Some women lived in the same neighborhood, but did not know each other. Here they shared their problems, had fun, talked… I can’t wait for Saturday at half past five so we can meet and see each other,” Sena points out.
Both she and Indira are grateful to the Positive Practice Center Association, which gave them the opportunity to spend their retirement days usefully and educationally, but also to feel that they are important to someone.
“These are women who have different problems, some have lost their partners, some are left alone. The change in them is incredible. Their confidence is much higher, many have discovered talents they didn’t even know they had. They made friends. It makes me happy when I see how incredibly supportive they are of each other,” Ilma describes the changes she has observed in women as a psychologist since the beginning of the project until today.
Ilma also hopes that this project will grow into a Day Care Center for the elderly. There are promises from the local authorities, there will certainly not be a lack of users, but it is necessary to ensure space. For now, Breza does not have a facility that can be used for these purposes, although its construction is planned. That is why it will be difficult to create a Center that would be open seven days a week. However, CPP will continue to work on it, because caring for the elderly is one of the most important goals of the Association.
A center that fosters positive practices
The Center for Positive Practice is a non-governmental, non-partisan and non-profit organization founded last year, whose activities are based on the 17 goals of sustainable development. Their main task is the promotion of positive practices in the field of psycho-social protection, health and environmental well-being of all categories of the population, and enabling a better, healthier, more promising and positive life for all citizens. The association was started by Ilma, Osman and Samira, employees of the Breza Center for Social Work.
“The CPP was created with the desire to emphasize the equality and better living conditions of every citizen of Breza, especially marginalized groups, and to put environmental issues in the focus of everyday thinking and action as a prerequisite for the healthy existence of every individual and community,” the agenda reads. Associations.
Although the young Association, joined by Aldina, Lejla, Anida and Haris in the meantime, “Years are just a number…” is not their only project.
They started the year with the environmental campaign “Luck is not a bag full of garbage”. The goal was the promotion of composting as a sustainable way of managing biowaste, and the analysis of citizens’ interest in it. More composters were distributed to citizens, which were provided by the company Mega – trans BiH. A composter was also assigned to the Kindergarten “Umihana Čuvidina” in order for the little ones to learn proper waste separation.
The project “Earth Conservation Awareness Month” lasted for more than a month. Under the guidance of Professor Edina Tabučija Bekrić, the students of Brezan High School learned about the protection of water, the atmosphere, and the planet through the Young Geographers section, they learned how to recycle properly and what are the everyday ways to reduce the amount of waste.
On Earth Day, pines and spruce trees were planted on the former biggest environmental problem in Breza, on the site of the former landfill Nedići, and the whole action ended with the planting of flowers in front of the “Muhsin Rizvić” Gymnasium in Breza.
In August, an exhibition of works by Brezan artists was organized on the newly opened town square, and among them were pictures of participants in the “Years are just a number…” project.
You are important!
The plans of the Association are big. The goal is to expand the activities beyond Breza, to establish a Day Center for elderly people and children with special needs, to launch a project for the economic empowerment of women.
But before all that, the “You are important!” conference will be held on October 19, marking the month of the fight against breast cancer. Because Breza, like other areas, has a large number of patients with various forms of cancer.
“Unfortunately, we don’t take care of our health. That is why we plan to gather 100 women at the conference. Menstrual health, cervical cancer and breast cancer prevention will be discussed. Conference participants will be doctors from Breza Health Center, trainers, psychologists, Brezanka. Our goal is that the women who come to the conference know exactly who to turn to if they have a problem,” Ilma points out.
The positive practice center is at its beginning, but everything that has been done so far shows once again the strength of individuals. Ilma, Samira and Osman decided to take matters into their own hands and in a short time made a change that made many people’s lives better. They are an example of how a small group of determined people can do a lot.
Written by: Vedada Sećerbajtarević
This story was written thanks to the generous support of the American people through the “Local Works” program of the United States Agency for International Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina (USAID). The content of the story is solely the responsibility of the author and the “Network for Building Peace”. The views expressed in the story do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
