Wednesday, October 1st, was observed globally as International Day of Older Persons. With this in mind and joining the global community, the Elderly Affairs Unit within the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs joined forces with the Saint Lucia Social Development Fund (SSDF) to observe this day. The global observance of International Day of Older Persons, highlights the invaluable contributions of older persons to families, communities, and society while drawing attention to the challenges they face, including health concerns, access to essential services, and social inclusion.
As part of the observance, the partners hosted a series of meaningful activities centered on appreciation, reflection, and wellness. The day began with a 90-minute mass at the Babonneau Good Shepherd Roman Catholic Church, offering thanksgiving for the lives and contributions of older persons across Saint Lucia. Following the service, the church grounds came alive with a Health Fair that brought together health professionals and service providers, offering health screenings, information, and resources designed to promote healthier lifestyles and support aging with dignity.
Robert Huggins, Director of the Elderly Affairs Unit, emphasized the Ministry’s focus on healthy aging, noting the need to support older persons in managing existing health challenges and to promote a holistic approach that encourages healthier decisions from a young age. “Healthy aging is an important concept for the Ministry of Health, we have a lot of challenges particularly when it comes to non-communicable diseases. A lot of people are making poor choices in their early life that is leading to negative outcomes later on in life so we have a lot of older persons now who are living longer but necessarily living better so the idea now is that we want to be able to first and foremost assist those now in managing the concerns that they have but also in using a life course approach to help engender and get persons to appreciate how the choices that they make at that younger age can have such an important impact on their life later on.”
The Director also explained that students from various schools were included in the day’s activities to help instill in them, respect for older persons and encourage interaction between generations. “We had the Babonneau Primary and Secondary Schools, we had the pre-school in as well because we really wanted to get them involved to understand. We want to help them rekindle that respect for older persons but also that they can have an opportunity to mingle with and learn from them and to be able to use those lessons to be able to grow healthier in their older years.”
Sharing a heartfelt reminder, Mildred Joseph who works for SSDF as a Home Care Supervisor appealed especially to young people to cherish their grandparents, stressing the importance of showing love, respect, and dignity to older persons while they are still with us. “I want to send a strong message out to everyone especially young people who have their grandparents, take care of them respect them, respect their dignity. It is so important that when we respect the elderly, because we are young and tomorrow we would like somebody to respect us, show them love, show them compassion, show them what it is to just have your grandmother in your arms, because many a times when they are gone that’s when we miss them.”
International Day of Older Persons served as a reminder that older adults are vital to the social fabric of Saint Lucia. By recognizing their contributions and responding to their needs, the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs continues to affirm its dedication to creating an inclusive and caring society for all generations.