A small group of people gathered outside Parliament to protest against elder abuse. Photo: Diana Mellow
5 October 2016
Members and allies of the Sector Task Team for Older Persons (STTOP) held a demonstration yesterday outside Parliament to raise awareness of elder abuse in Cape Town. The gathering was organised to mark the International Week of Older Persons. About 15 people took part.
STTOP is calling for more volunteers and donations for elderly persons, especially for medical equipment, exercise classes, and social activities. “The Department of Health says it will provide wheelchairs, but each clinic has one per week,” said Valerie Heighway, 67.
“My friend was on a seven-year waiting list for a dental clinic.”
Heighway and her peers were joined by younger allies. Mkhululi Sithilanga, 24, said he joined the demonstration because “we don’t know if God is gonna keep us, ‘til what age.” Irraddy Chongwe, a social worker specialising in old age care, said the struggle of elder abuse in homes and institutions touched him deeply.
“Sometimes they are the most lonely people,” he said.