AGING WITH PRIDE
In Tanzania millions of older people are among the poorest in the society. Besides being skilled, knowledgeable and experienced as farmers, fishermen and retired public servants, majority of them go into retirement ill-prepared and they are missing out of their right to a happy ending.
Philemon Foundation aspires to bring a change to the aged population.
Across Tanzania
Everyday, new men and women leave the job market - they have retired! If there have not been proper plans prior to this crucial point, the consequences are severe and shall always impact their families. We need to do something!
WORK AGAIN!
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Happily work again, arise and shine!
Who are we?
In order to honour their Father, the Wife, Sons and Daughters of the Late PHILEMON OMARI MBAGA decided to establish the PHILEMON OMARI MBAGA FOUNDATION with the Mission to Improve the quality of life of older people by supporting them to live their lives with dignity, remain active, healthy and living independently in their communities as well as to rid the minds of the older people of the fear that age means decline and retirement means loneliness, isolation, loss of prestige and so on.
The Foundation will work assiduously to re-instil in the elderly minds the confidence that age and productivity are not mutually exclusive. It does this by utilizing their experience and maturity in activities that serve the needs of the community.
Three Major challenges older people face:
(a) Poverty
Economically, older people are among the poorest in the society. Various groups of older people such as peasants, herdsmen and fishermen do not belong to any formal social security system. Retired older people who are members of the Social Security Schemes face problems resulting from inadequate benefits and bureaucratic bottlenecks. Furthermore, the existing poverty reduction strategies do not include older people.
(b) Diseases
The majority of people become old with poor health due to poor life styles and poor nutrition during their childhood; women heavy work load, and frequent pregnancies. Prolonged diseases are a common feature among many older people. Additionally, health services are not easily accessible to the majority of older people besides they are expensive. Health care professionals on the other hand lack motivation and are not adequately trained to handle older peoples’ illness.
(c)Inadequate care
The movement of young people from rural to urban centers has left the majority of older people lonely and unprotected. Moreover HIV/AIDS pandemic has taken away lives of the majority of young people. On the other hand older people are increasingly called upon to care for themselves and their orphaned grand children.
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Fundraising for Elizabeth Mbaruku
Jobs & Careers for Older People
At PHILEMON FOUNDATION, we do not think you are ever too old to do work of some sort. We believe the only thing that matters is your ability to do the tasks assigned to you. As long as you can perform up to the employer’s expectations, you deserve the opportunity to keep working. However, this should not stop you from finding employment. The older person looking for work should have the opportunity to do so with confidence in the fact that he or she has something to offer.
In Tanzania, the official retirement age is 60 years. It is obvious that not all people aged 60 years are unable to work, while some people younger than 60 years are not able to work. Being ‘old aged’ is therefore not always the same as being 60 years of age.
The Philemon Foundation aims to ease the way, providing opportunity, inspiration, community and counsel to old people over 50 who seek work that matches their lifestyle and economic security needs by helping them to find jobs and other opportunities. We make sure to work with employers who have a proven track record for fostering inclusive workplace environments in which any individual can feel safe and valued.