One day we'll grow old too
Ahead of Good Deeds Day, Hebrew University student urges young adults not to forget elderly
I recently volunteered to visit some of them as part of a campaign of the International Fellowship of Christian and Jews, aimed at giving 17,000 needy elderly people across the country a grant of NIS 400 (about $115) to help them keep them warm throughout the winter.
One could ask why a philanthropic foundation should help poor people instead of the State, but I was actually pleased with the opportunity to devote my time to a purpose close to my heart.
Most of the elderly people I visited welcomed me with a lot of suspicion at first, and that's understandable. After all, most of them sit at home alone most hours of the day, and their only interaction with other people comes down to service providers at the HMO, bank or National Insurance Institute.
According to what some of them told me, these interactions often end with a lot of disappointment. We are all very familiar with the impatience of service providers, but when it comes to elderly people it's hard not to wonder where the empathy and desire to help have disappeared to, especially on the part of people who probably also have an elderly family member.
Have we become so indifferent to the other? Why can't we be tolerant to a person who went through an entire life, established a family, provided for it, contributed to society and now needs that same society to embrace him or her?
After all, this elderly person is each and every one of us. He is our grandfather or our grandmother now, our parent in several years, and us too – in the not so far future.
Volunteers hit the road (Photo: Kobi Gideon, Flash 90)
When France voted to raise the retirement age by only two years, from 60 to 62, streets were set on fire not just by people about to retire, but also by young people who realized that fighting for the elderly today is fighting for themselves in a few decades. It's not that I support the battle of those young French people, and I know that the French society's problems are completely different than ours, but I would like to see that same spirit here too.
What happened to the Pensioners' Party? In the 2006 elections the Pensioners' Party came out of nowhere and stole the show with an amazing achievement of seven Knesset seats, which were also obtained due to a protest vote of many young people who had had enough of the smug and corrupt politicians.
It seemed that we were all working for this public which needs us, and giving it our public support – through the Knesset elections. But now it's safe to say that it was simply a political gimmick which was quickly dissolved.
We forgot about them, the elderly of our generation, and this can be seen in every aspect. The problems of the elderly are hardly covered by the media, although they have not stopped. The same Knesset, which already had a Pensioners' Party, has forgotten about them as well and moved on to other issues.
Unfortunately, during my visits to those poor elderly I found out that they have been forgotten by the wide public as well. They need us to fight with them for the important things. A good opportunity has now arrived with the struggle of the social workers, who have an important part in improving the elderly people's quality of life. But that's not the only way we can help.
The elderly people I visited were happy with the check I gave them, but it will only help them for a week or two. Most of all, they were happy with the opportunity to talk to a different person, who wants to listen to them, to their problems and their stories, and can slightly relieve the loneliness forced on many of them due to physical and other difficulties.
It was an eye-opening experience, in which I learned how a magnificent life can end so quietly. Let's not let them vanish slowly without us noticing.
Good Deeds Day – you can do it too
The annual Good Deeds Day, initiated by the Ruach Tova association, will be held for the fifth time on April 5.
Some 70,000 people volunteered within one day last year. Everyone got to experience the joy of giving to the community. This year more than 100,000 people are expected to volunteer. You're invited to join!
To volunteer as individuals – click here
To volunteer as a group – click here
- Follow Ynetnews on Facebook
