Elderly caregivers in Swaziland

SWAZILAND: Elderly caregivers get little assistance
Plus News - South Africa
MBABANE, 25 January 2008 (PlusNews) - The widowed Gogo (SiSwati for "granny") Thwala, 72, lives a life that relies heavily on her survival skills as she single-handedly raises three grandchildren, but not a trace of resignation or despair clouds her smile. "Yes, when the Lord took my son and his wife, and I was left with two little girls and a boy to look after, it was hard to go back to work but I am not without my resources!" said Thwala. Her small hillside farm on communal Swazi Nation Land in Elwandle is only five kilometres south of the country's main commercial hub, Manzini, but few visitors tread the stony goat paths to reach it and she might as well be living in a remote rural village ... Thwala's two granddaughters are classified as orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC), and therefore eligible for government payment of their school fees. Her grandson, 5, will also qualify when he is old enough to attend primary school. Although slow and backed by insufficient funding, the government's welfare services are gradually shifting from an almost exclusive focus on OVC to recognise the needs of their elderly and often desperately poor caregivers. "I never thought I would have to raise children again. I thought that part of my life was over. But what can I do? What can these children do without me? I love them, and being with them helps soothe the loss I feel at the death of my son and his wife," said Thwala. Mkuluza Zwane, director of the Umtfunti Old Age Association, finds Thwala's attitude commendable, but rare. "So many of these elderly are simply worn out by the burdens they face in their old age ... In Swaziland, the extended family can still be found to assist, and neighbours." However, some elderly people are truly alone, a recent phenomenon caused by the social upheaval wrought by AIDS. In his policy speech earlier this month, Prime Minister Themba Dlamini mentioned government's desire to improve the lot of the elderly ... The Queen Mother, who by tradition rules in conjunction with her son, King Mswati III, has set up a charity called Phila EmaSwati to provide assistance to the elderly ... Real estate developers in the upscale suburb Ezulwini, on the eastern edge of the capital, Mbabane, unveiled plans for Swaziland's first retirement community. Although intended for unusually affluent retired people, the gated housing estate struck many people as unSwazi and somehow threatening to a national way of life. "This place is apartheid for the aged ...