Territory Celebrates Senior Citizens Month

Over one hundred senior citizens from Anegada to Tortola gathered at the Prospect Reef Resort in Road Town on Monday May 1st for the official opening ceremony of Senior Citizens Month 2000. The celebration is observed under the auspices of the Social Development Department. The theme this year is "Reflection of the Past, Vision of the Millennium". A service at the Long Look Church of God of Prophecy on Sunday April 30th kicked off the activities, which would also include open house at the Senior Citizens Centres throughout the islands, a food fair/fun day, post Mother's Day luncheon, cultural day, old-time prayer meeting, visitation day, a concert, a boat ride to Anegada and beach picnics. An exhibition of traditional culture meeting technology will be hosted at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College on May 12th and 26th. Seniors from the U.S Virgin Islands are scheduled to meet with BVI seniors on May 19th for a day on Jost Van Dyke.

The elderly were drawn from the Rising Sun Senior Citizens Centre in East End/Long Look, opened December 15th, 1991; Seniors Aglow in Virgin Gorda, established in January 1994; the Jolly Seniors from Road Town started in 1997; the Golden Seniors of Seacows Bay, Anegada's Cultural Pearls launched their programme in 1999 and the Cream of the Crop from Carrot Bay, started December 23rd, 1991. There was also a group from the Meyer's/Brewers Bay area, not yet a formalized organization. The various speakers at the opening ceremony underscored the need for everyone to have high respect for the senior citizens of today, who were the ones who laboured intensely to provide for the current generation. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Welfare Clyde Lettsome noted that over the next 25 years, the over 65's are expected to increase by 88%, compared with the 45% increase in the working age of the population.

"It is easy to see what the result would be - a smaller group of people having to provide for a larger group, whether it be by direct support, taxation, social security, health or social services, it will be a challenge," he stated. According to Mr. Lettsome, the younger generation can begin to help by practising healthy lifestyles, protecting the environment and making adequate provisions for their eventual retirement. He said the seniors can help by constantly and consistently reminding us of where we have come from and the hard work and sacrifices which were necessary to get us, as a people, as a country, to where we are today. Chairperson of the ceremony, Mrs. Jennie Wheatley, Lecturer at the HLS Community College expounded the importance of seniors imparting their knowledge to the younger generation and of the younger generation recording the talents of the senior citizens, for posterity. Chief Social Development Officer Mrs. Edith Penn said young people could learn much from yesteryear. She reminisced on the support system young mothers had years ago where the entire community played a role in the child's development and of the old-time remedies for ailments and the community concern exhibited when someone became ill.

Mrs. Penn compared those days to these days, where attitudes have changed and technology has taken over. "Today, we are aware that change has taken place...but we also recognize the strength of our seniors and their ability to pass knowledge on." Chief Minister the Honourable Ralph T. O'Neal spoke of government's intention to see the senior citizens movement expanded. He said government is hoping to provide a better home for the seniors, government has started a programme to assist senior citizens at home and the Red Cross has a programme where individuals are trained to take care of the elderly. Mr. O'Neal said his regard for senior citizens pre-dates his election to office. He believes it is a privilege to attain the status of senior citizen. "I want to give you the assurance that my government will continue to support the senior citizens movement and that we will do all that we can to make the movement a bigger one, a happier one and help you to enjoy...the twilight of your age here in the British Virgin Islands," he pledged. The ceremony was punctuated with entertainment from the seniors - a harmonica selection from Mrs. Leona Crabbe, a recitation by Mrs. Camella Thomas, a solo from Mr. Ira Smith, a keyboard solo by Mr. Berisford Smith and a poem by Mrs. Estelle Donovan. The guest speaker was the Reverend Charlesworth Browne, Methodist Minister. He delivered an excellent address, in which he congratulated the authors of the theme. "You see, it is irrefutable that without a consciousness of the past, where we have been, our successes and our failures, we are unable to determine the nature of our present position in life." He said moreover, without a grasp of the past, it is virtually futile to attempt any plan for the future, foreseeable or distant.

In preparing his address, Reverend Browne used the senior citizens as his greatest resource, in some area. He said he was told a few facts about the past, some of which merit reflection. According to the guest speaker, he was told that the BVI was a very peaceful place in the years gone by; that children were more mannerly; people were more loving, friendly and caring and people seemed to fear the Lord more. "Now one of the most moving responses I received...was from a dear lady in Virgin Gorda and she said of her childhood days, 'my pound of flour was your pound of flour'; to me that was most touching, in that the community was a sharing community," Reverend Browne stated. He said in all of this, it is good to recognize that all is not lost, as long as there is life, there is hope. The Methodist Minister said on reflecting and considering the recent crime wave, something must be wrong in society. He stressed the importance of the family support system in dealing with some of the problems we encounter today. "I want to also challenge us as we look to the future in terms of healthy lifestyles, to take the attitude of casting all our burdens on the Master and trusting Him for everything to come," Rev. Browne admonished. Minister of Health & Welfare Hon. Eileene Parsons missed the ceremony, as she was representing the BVI in California. In her message, read by her Permanent Secretary, she noted that the global population aged 65 years, is increasing by 750,000 persons per month. According to the 1998 World Health Organization Report, by 2025, there will be more than 800 million older people on the planet, two thirds of them in developing countries and the majority of them - women.

"While we cannot forget that ageing presents society with many challenges, it is equally true that the seniors among us are repositories of knowledge and experiences, which are vital to the understanding of our history and preparation for the future," Minister Parsons stated. She recalled that the Senior Citizens Programme began 11 years ago with a pilot programme in Sea Cows Bay and later spread throughout the islands. Today, 205 seniors participate in the programme. "This is a first and very important step in helping our seniors to build productive and rewarding lives in the twilight of their years," the Minister said. The Social Development Department has other programmes for the seniors. It is hoped to organize a mass choir, compile a history book of their experiences, create a job programme and organize seniors into a grand parenting club.