who we are
never too old
left and right: Bochong Mah David and members of the Ajang elderly people's club.
centre: CDVTA is helping elderly people to find new ways to earn a living, such as keeping chickens.
Instead of getting ready for retirement, Bochong Mah David, like many elderly people in rural Cameroon, is still working hard.
Elderly people are the ones who farm and who care for the children in his village. The young have gone: many have found work in the towns or have died of HIV/AIDS, leaving children with elderly grandparents. Yet elderly people are often isolated, with few resources to improve their lives or care for their grandchildren.
David now belongs to a club, set up by MRDF partner Community Development Volunteers for Technical Assistance (CDVTA), which aims to break down poverty and isolation for elderly people. It provides simple things that improve people?s lives: blankets to keep out the cold and bush lamps for light, and gives training in productive ways to make a living, like making soap or keeping chickens.
David has also benefited from one of the small loans given to club members from a communal fund. However, the most important part of the club is building relationships and providing mutual support in difficult times.
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?This project has helped me tremendously. The elderly [here] helped me to pay my grandson?s school fees; I have never seen solidarity like this before. We are so happy to know that there are elders in the UK sending help, our brothers and sisters there. Tell them all they have sent is coming to us, tell them thank you.? Bochong Mah David, Cameroon |
