Bertin Meance is the Recovery Coordinator for HelpAge International in Haiti and an Age Demands Action (ADA) activist. Here, he talks about the preparations for the campaign in Haiti:
More than 700 older people joined forces
“In preparation for the commemoration of the International Day of Older people, more than 700 hundred older people gathered at College St-Pierre in Port-au-Prince last Friday to share among themselves their issues in order to come up with the key messages they want to deliver to the ICRC (Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti) on 1 October.
Key messages
Here are the key messages:
-Housing access to cash for income generating activities
-Access to food assistance to send their grand children to school due to resume on 4 October
-Inclusion in cash for work recruitments
-Access to healthcare including medicines.
One recurring message is also the fact that they do not want to be excluded from the plans to rebuild Haiti.
Although we have already heard all of these issues before, one striking message is the need to find money to send children to school. When I asked how many of them are in charge of grandchildren, most of the participants raised their hands.
Some of the parents of these children died during the quake. Others have lost their jobs or their assets. Finally, a lot of these children “do not have fathers” according to them, which means that a great number of men who father children in Haiti do not take care of them.
The older people will celebrate the International Day of Older People on 1 October.
There will be a mass followed by a march to the headquarters of the ICRC.
Ten older people will leave the march to meet with the ICRC and expose their issues to members of that commission.
Older people are the roots of the trees. Younger people are the leaves. If the roots rot, the leaves will fall
They will be carrying signs with these different messages during the march:
The older people need respect
Older people are the roots of the trees. Younger people are the leaves. If the roots rot, the leaves will fall
Older people are the advisors of younger people
Older people, stand up to rebuild Haiti!
Older people are human beings also. They must be assisted
The older people are forgotten, they are marginalised, but they are not giving up.”
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