Developing the Potentials of the Elderly

Dr, Haryono Suyono
Member of the AUICK International Advisory Committee (IAC)
Chairman of the Indonesian National Committee on Social Welfare (DNIKS)

Upon the invitation of Drs Bambang Dwi Hartono, Mayor of Surabaya City, no less than 400 participants attended the National Seminar on Community-based Empowerment of the Elderly. The seminar was arranged, among others, by Dr. Pudjo Rahardjo of the DAMANDIRI Foundation and Dr. Sunarjo, et.al., from the Indonesian Institute for Human Development. The seminar was also attended by experts from the United Nations and representatives from other agencies, with headquarters in Bangkok. Experts from the Asian Urban Information Center of Kobe (AUICK), Japan, and other institutes for the elderly at the national and provincial levels, were also in attendance.

The development of community-based empowerment of the elderly is based upon the principles of POSDAYA, i.e. empowering the members of the family, at the village level. The POSDAYA is aimed at fostering the communication within and among families and the community at the field levels - the people who are concerned with the future of the society.

This forum was a follow-through of an international AUICK workshop held in Kobe, Japan, some months past, and is hoped to become a model for other settings and countries which experience rapid demographic transition.

This has been experienced by countries like England, the Netherlands, France and Scandinavian countries in Europe, which have large aged populations, and have all experienced long and relatively slow demographic transition of between 100 and 150 years.

Asian countries, such as Indonesia, China, Thailand, Singapore and some others, which at the end of the past century have successfully implemented their family planning and health programs, have also achieved the same transition, yet in a much shorter period of only one generation.

The net result is that many governments, both central and provincial, and also their governance mechanism, are caught unawares in facing the new challenges raised by the vastly changing structures of a population with a large number of elderly. This is, among other things, illustrated in the lack and/or incompleteness of population related legislative items dealing with the elderly.

The National Law on the Elderly has not been supplemented with government regulations for its implementation, or with other implementing regulations down to the grass roots. It is noted that East Java faced the challenges of the elderly much earlier than other provinces, and it too does not have the appropriate regulatory mechanisms. Many of the implemented activities designed to deal with the issue of the elderly still cannot be  regarded as the appropriately integrative political instruments to deal with this incumbent vast challenge.

Many experts from other more developed countries, such as Japan, among others Dr. Hirofumi Ando, recommended significantly to the Seminar. In the same vein, field experiences gained in Surabaya were presented and utilized as illustrations for other areas and administrative settings to emulate. The example of Surabaya with its two-pronged approach was most interesting.

The first approach is based on traditional and conventional methods of placing the elderly in foster homes. There are three kinds of foster home, the first being those established by the community with their budgets provided by the community. The second is those established by the community but subsidized by the local government or other organizations. The third approach is those established and funded fully by the government.

Another approach in empowering the elderly is that done by and for the elderly themselves, with the support of their respective families and the community. A case in point is that which was found at the Ngagel Mulyo Village, where a common interest group was formed. This group is comprised of elderly persons from the neighborhood and community. The group meets regularly, undertaking various kinds of activities. The purpose of the meetings is to encourage all members, the elderly with their diverse interests, to participate and engage in common endeavors.

Worth noting is that activities in this group are divided into various interest sub-groups. The purpose of these sub-groupings is the gaining of individual satisfaction and happiness in sharing common interests with others.

With these community based endeavors and empowerment, the elderly will not have to be kept in foster homes, and will thus also give more significant roles to their families in sharing their homes together with their elders, consequently also giving the elderly their due respect and care. It is not rare that on certain occasions the younger generations join-in the special programs for the elderly, especially at POSDAYA with elderly activities.

In this seminar, one of the oldest and foremost elderly organizations was also present, namely the Abiyoso Foundation, chaired by the former vice governor of East Java, Mr. Tri Maryono. This organization is very active in carrying out advocacy, and in encouraging community concern on the plight of the elderly in East Java. This organization is collaborating closely with the Indonesian Institute for Human Development, which comprises in the most part of lecturers from universities, and those engaged in the vast effort of human resources development.

Dr. Hirofumi Ando, who came especially for the seminar, brought a special message of respect for that done for and by the elderly, which was highlighted at the AUICK Kobe workshop. He expressed his appreciation that the results and recommendations of the workshop were implemented even down to the village levels, and further expanded to cover the whole city of Surabaya. Dr. Ando is convinced that the experience of Surabaya could be used as example for other cities and countries. He further elaborated that efforts in empowering families in urban areas, especially in Surabaya, is adherent to the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially those which apply to the elderly population.