“Thank you So Much for Remembering Us” – Dewdrop Foundation Visits Internally Displaced Elders from Adamawa and Borno States
“Thank you so much for remembering us”, they said cheerily, waving as we departed from a settlement of internally displaced persons from Borno and Adamawa States, in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, during one of our visits on 6th of August 2020.
This was following a NEEDS assessment conducted in the camp to ascertain the level of care and attention being paid to the health and general wellbeing of the elderly in the community. In follow up visits, we sensitized them about the ageing process, in order to allay their fears about common stereotypes associated with ageing such as dementia (mental illness) where the affected person is most likely to be called a ‘witch’ due to odd behaviours. In a situation like this, an elderly person is easily exposed to severe abuse or even burnt to death.
As elderly persons are the most vulnerable from the Covid-19 pandemic, we are also sensitizing them about the pandemic and how to protect themselves.
