RIYADH, 21 March 2008 — M. is a childless, 76-year-old Saudi woman, one of the 27 aged residents who are cared for at Riyadh’s Elderly Women Welfare Home. M. spoke to Arab News recently but requested we not publish her name.
After her husband died, and with no immediate family to care for her, she says neighbors recommended she check herself into the government-run retirement home, one of nine run by the Ministry of Social Affairs in the Kingdom. Most of the elderly in the home have no immediate family to care for them.
Not far from M. is another woman, who said she was 69 years old but was anxious about providing her name to a newspaper reporter. “I was left here by my daughter who soon got married and started a life of her own,” she said, adding that with four children to care for, and with a husband who objected to having an aging mother-in-law in the house, her daughter decided it was best that her mother live in the retirement home. She says that she visits her daughter and grandchildren for a few days every year.
According to Haifa Al-Alsheikh, director of the home, there are 63 “cases” in the home, including elderly people with special care needs. The home also cares for “a case or two” of women who have been referred to the home because of domestic issues related to divorce or domestic violence. (Women in the Kingdom require a legal male guardian, and in cases where this guardianship is jeopardized or abused, the state takes over as a women’s caretaker and these women often end up in care centers such as Riyadh’s Elderly Women Welfare Home.)
Al-Alsheikh explained that it was decided in the past to use these centers as women’s shelters too in order to reduce bureaucratic redundancies of having two types of government agencies providing similar services of sheltering women.
For the most part, Al-Alsheikh says, the culture is still averse to retirement homes.
“Our society tends to take on the burden of caring for the elderly individually as a part of our religion and customs,” she said.
In fact the Ministry of Social Affairs tends to discourage sons or daughters who admit their parents into elderly care centers simply due to old age. Sons or daughters who apply to have a parent admitted are screened by social workers, a process that involves home visits, to assess each situation individually. If the inspectors decide to reject the claim they provide training on elderly care at home. The team will accept the petition if it rules that it would be in the best interest of the elderly person to receive care in a government retirement home.
But Al-Alsheikh says that most of these decisions end up amicably resolved. “In the five years I have served here I have not come across a case of parental ungratefulness,” she said.
Ohoud, a 50-year-old resident of the home, is an orphan with a slight mental disability. Her adoptive mother arranged a marriage and after delivering a baby girl, Ohoud was divorced and her adoptive parent died. As an orphan with no legal guardian and unable to care for her young daughter, she was admitted to the home. “Her daughter (who lives with her father) visits her regularly, and Ohoud is hoping to move in with her when her daughter is old enough to care for her” says Al-Alsheikh.
Meanwhile, Ohoud spends her time writing poetry and short stories.
The idea of state-sponsored elderly care, orphan care and care of women without family, took root following the urging of the late King Abdul Aziz, who ordered the establishment of the General Presidency for Orphans in 1955. The department was charged with caring for elderly orphans. Five years later the department was incorporated into the Ministry of Social Affairs, which established a standardized set of bylaws for proper care facilities and built the nine homes across the country.
Huda Al-Sohaib, a young physiotherapist who works at Riyadh’s Elderly Women Welfare Home, says that it’s important for the well being of these women to keep them active.
“The element of belonging plays a role in their morale first and their well being second,” she said. Like others at the center, Al-Sohaib tires to make these women feel a part of the community. The physiotherapist says she’s taken some of these women home with her as day guests.
“This makes them to feel like they are a part of our families and to relate to us more,” she said.
There are four caretakers for every five bedridden cases at the Riyadh home, according to Al-Alsheikh. “We provide 24-hour care for bedridden patients, and we also provide the same number of hours of emotional care for the healthier ones,” she said.
Besides the daily program of activities, which includes arts-and-crafts sessions, exercises and in-house dinner parties, the home organizes outside activities to malls, restaurants and outdoor activities. On seasonal occasions, such as the two Eids, the home comes together with orphan-care centers and other government-affiliated care centers. Gifts are exchanged and traditional meals are served. It also provides an opportunity to mix elderly with youngsters.
“The old women seem revived when they see children and celebrate with others,” says Al-Alsheikh.
Residents of the home are also provided with a modest government stipend that gives them some independence. Such homes also encourage volunteerism.
Manal, a 19-year-old university student, spends time with the elderly residents of the home. She says that not only does it provide a service to these women and gives her a feeling of spiritual well being, but it also looks good on a resume.
The home offers the “Mothers’ Friend Program” to promote volunteerism associated with elderly care. “The program encourages volunteers to build ties with residents through regular visits thus becoming friends and supporters,” said Al-Alsheikh. “Many ladies — university, high school and even elementary school girls — join this program as a part of feeling obliged to give back and serve their society.
