02 Oct 2022

Serowe Men Sector committee members have thanked pensioners for helping develop the country.

The committee chairperson, Mr Daniel Orufeng, said this in a statement prior to the International Commemoration Day of Older Persons held on Saturday.

“We say we will eternally remember the benefits of living side by side with the elderly,” he said.

Mr Orufeng urged Batswana not to be impatient with the elderly as there were ailments affecting them as a result of aging. 

People should remember and accept ailments that befall the elderly such as brain disorders such as dementia, loss of cognitive function, change of personality and poor memory.

He added that it was difficult to treat causes of memory loss such as depression, chronic alcoholism, drugs and nutritional deficiencies.

Mr Orufeng reminded Batswana that the elderly were at higher risks of injuries from fractures, adding families should modify homes and public offices environment to prevent injuries.

‘’Consider putting up rubber devices on bathroom floors that can grip the bottom end of walking sticks. Mobility of the aged is highly important,” he noted.

He indicated that elderly people were prone to suffer from being forgetful, decreased vision, poor hearing, poor absorption of nutrients, increased prostate size in men, which caused blockage of urine and increased bone fractures.

Other ailments, he said, included heart problems, hypertension, arthritis, sugar diabetes, dizziness, high blood pressure, weak knees and lung diseases, particularly among those who smoked before or worked in dusty environment.

Those conditions, he said, demanded great sense of awareness, mercy and kindness. Ends