|
1. Introduction
Human life is normally
divided into five main stages, namely; infancy, childhood,
adolescence, adulthood and elderly. Among the stages
of human life, the elderly stage is the most vulnerable
and problematic (Rao, 2006:345) because in the elderly
stage, physical strength deteriorates, mental stability
diminishes, money power becomes bleak and eyesight suffers
a setback. Old age is not free from problems, though
from the point of view of the wider society the problems
of old age are comparatively less from the standpoint
of the individual, the problems are not less significant.
It is only for a blessed few that old age may prove
to be a stage of contentment and satisfaction. For a
large number of people it may actually become a period
of disappointment, dejection, disease, repentance and
loneliness. In order to find some solace for their distressed
mind a good number of people turn towards religion.
They become more and more other-worldly in their attitude.
Some seek satisfaction through the achievements of their
children or grandchildren. Some old people cut off their
relations with the external world and prefer to live
in isolation. So, elderly people need support from others.
In the early stages of human history, the families or
groups in society met such supports. In the medieval
age, for the first time in human history old homes were
established in England named Monasteries (meaning a
building in which monks live). These Monasteries served
as orphanages, as homes for the old, the sick and the
handicapped, and as a refuge for the homeless, continuing
the tradition of the Greek xenodochia-guest houses (Friedlander,
1955:9). Later on, maternity and old age homes, health
visiting, home nursing, clinics and sanitariums for
tubercular patients, hostels for mentally defective
children and adults, were established under the auspices
of voluntary agencies along with family (Friedlander,
1955:59). It is evident that both institutional and
family services exist in society for the care of the
disadvantaged groups of people including destitute elderly
in the west. In the Indian sub-continent, family bondage
is very strong and highly appreciated, especially in
Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, at present, initiatives to
meet the needs of the elderly through both institutional
and family categories although institutional initiatives
are extremely limited so far. Customarily family is
solely responsible for looking after the destitute elderly.
But the ability of the family aged care homes to take
care of the elderly has been weakened severely due to
poverty, industrialization, urbanization and other reasons.
So the elderly people are falling into destitute situations
day by day. Many studies have been conducted so far
on the elderly and their welfare, but none of those
studies have addressed the destitute elderly issue clearly,
so, this study has focused exclusively on the socio-economic
situation of the destitute elderly in Bangladesh.
2. Theoretical Explanation
of the Destitute Elderly
Old age is an obvious reality and the last stage of
the human life cycle. It denotes the later stage of
human life. The term elderly is applied to those aged
60 and over in conformity with the International Plan
of Action in Ageing adopted by the World Assembly of
Ageing, held in Vienna in 1982 (Kabir, 2003:64). On
the other hand, destitute means a situation in which
people cannot fulfill their basic needs such as food,
clothing, medicine, shelter etc. Broadly speaking, destitution
is an extreme state of poverty, in which a person is
almost completely lacking in resources or means of support
(Islam, 2007:24). Elderly refers to old age people.
However age limit may vary in different societies, such
as, in the USA people over 65 years are considered as
elderly. In Bangladesh people over 60 years of age are
generally considered as elderly. All elderly need some
services as in most cases they are unable to meet their
needs by themselves. However, it may differ according
to their differential conditions, because different
groups of elderly have different types of needs. That
means their needs are not the same in nature. For example,
some elderly may remain physically able and can work,
some may be economically secure as they have enough
assets and some may have no means of fulfilling basic
needs. This group of the elderly in Bangladesh (those
who have no means of fulfilling their basic needs) is
larger than others. Actually they are destitute elderly.
So, in this study, by destitute elderly, I mean those
who are aged over 60 years and unable to fulfill their
basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, health
etc. on their own. In Bangladesh, the Old Age Allowance
(Boisko Bhata) of the Government of Bangladesh provides
to the destitute elderly only. So by definition, they
are destitute. Besides the old home (aged care home)
named 'Old and Child Rehabilitation Center' of Hotapara,
Gazipur also provides services to only the destitute
elderly keeping them in the Old home. So, the elderly
receiving Old Age Allowance (Boisko Bhata) from the
government and the inmates of the above mentioned old
home (Old and Child Rehabilitation Center) have been
defined as destitute elderly.
3. Methodology of the Study
Data was collected from the two categories of destitute
elderly. One is the destitute elderly who live in the
old home named 'Old and Child Rehabilitation Center'
and another is the destitute elderly who live in the
family environment and receive 'old age allowance' from
the government. All inmates of the old home were selected
and 144 elderly were selected from the family by multi-stage
sampling technique for the interview. Data has been
presented and analyzed in tabular form and different
statistical tools.
4. Discussions and Results
of the Study
Data was computerized and analyzed using SPSS 11.5 and
MS Excel software. Data has been presented through univariate,
bi-variate and multivariate tables. Various statistical
techniques such as frequency distribution, central tendency,
correlation and test of significance have been used
to analyze the data.
4.1. Demographic Characteristics of the Destitute Elderly
4.1.1. Age Structure of the Destitute Elderly
Age is the main factor of becoming elderly. The process
of elderly absolutely depends on age. It was a difficult
task to identify the age of the elderly accurately as
most elderly interviewed in this study were unable to
figure out their accurate age. I tried to estimate their
age using some memorable moments or events like year
of marriage, year of their first child born, liberation
war and significant socio-political events and relate
these events to their approximate age. Data indicates
that the age of the destitute elderly is considerably
high and it is higher for males than females. The difference
in the age structure among the destitute elderly by
categories is statistically significant. The destitute
elderly living in the Old home are more aged than the
destitute elderly living with family as we see that
15.1 percent of the destitute elderly living in the
Old home belonging to the 80+ years category compared
to only 4.9 percent of the destitute elderly living
with family (Table-1).
Click
here for Table 1: Age of the Destitute Elderly by Categories
and Gender
It appears that the higher
the age, the more destitution is assumed, and the elderly
living with family are more destitute than the elderly
living in the Old home, at least in terms of physical
ability related to aging process.
4.1.2. Religious Affiliation of the Destitute Elderly
No society in the world is free from the influence of
religion. In established societies, religion is one
of the most important institutional structures making
up to the total social system. Table 2 presents the
religious affiliation of respondents of the study. It
is clearly seen that majority of the destitute elderly
are Muslims in both the categories. About 91.4 percent
destitute elderly living in the Old home are Muslim,
followed by 7.2 percent Hindu and 1.4 percent Christian.
On the other hand, there are 92.4 percent Muslims and
7.6 percent Hindu in the family setting. No Christian
is found in the selected family for the study. Traditionally,
Bangladesh is a Muslim dominated country. Therefore,
it has been reflected in the present study.
Click
here for Table 2: Religious Affiliation of the Destitute
Elderly by Categories
4.1.3. Marital Status of
the Destitute Elderly
Usually marriage opens the door between husband and
wife to share physical, psychological, economical, and
social matters. Marriage helps the human being to be
more secure in later life. Particularly it is true for
Bangladesh where offspring are still the major, if not
only, source of support during old age. If both spouses
are living together they are likely to be less vulnerable
as they can extend help to each other. However, those
who are living alone during old age are most vulnerable.
Never married, deserted, divorced and widow/widower
elderly are living singly. All together 71.1 percent
of the destitute elderly were found to belong to these
categories (Table 3). 91.8 percent of the females and
52.7 percent of male destitute elderly were found to
be single. These findings indicate the most vulnerable
position of the female destitute elderly in Bangladesh.
If categories are considered, difference is seen between
the destitute elderly living in the Old home and those
living with family in this regard, with 77.0 percent
of the elderly living in the Old home compared to 66.0
percent of the elderly living with family. The Chi-square
value for the destitute elderly living in the Old home
is 25.6 and significance is 0.000 with 4 degrees of
freedom and the chi-square value for the destitute elderly
living with family is 47.4 and significance of 0.000
with 4 degrees of freedom indicates that the difference
between the elderly living in the Old home and the elderly
living with family in terms of marital status, is statistically
significant. If categories are considered it is seen
that there is not much difference between the proportions
of widow/widower; it is 60.4 percent for family and
56.8 percent for the Old home. However, if gender is
considered it is seen that differences among the proportions
of widow/widower between male and female are very high
for both the Old home (male 40.8 percent and female
76.2 percent) and family (male 34.7 percent and female
86.1). Findings show that the difference is highest
for the destitute elderly living with family (Table
3). In all cases the proportion of widow/widower is
higher for the female destitute elderly. As, usually,
females are younger than males at the time of marriage
in Bangladesh, these findings indicate that the male
spouse of the destitute female elderly have already
died, although it is already seen in Table 1 that the
age of the female destitute elderly is lower than that
of the male. Widowhood is considered as the highest
level of vulnerability in Bangladesh. So the above findings
indicate that women are more destitute than males.
Click
here for Table 3: Marital Status of the Destitute Elderly
by Categories and Gender
The second highest proportion
(28.6 percent) of the destitute elderly was found currently
married. The differences among the proportions of currently
married destitute elderly living in the Old home and
family by gender, were found significant. In general
47.3 percent of the male destitute elderly were found
to be currently married compared to only 8.1 percent
of the female destitute. If the setting is considered,
more currently married destitute elderly are found with
family (34.0 percent) compared to 23.0 percent in the
Old home. If gender of the destitute elderly is considered
in both categories, male destitute elderly are found
more currently married (34.2 percent for old home and
61.1 percent for family) than female destitute elderly
(9.5 percent for old home and 6.9 percent for family).
If currently married is considered as an indication
of less destitution, these findings indicate that male
destitute elderly living with family are less destitute
than the male destitute living in the Old home. Interestingly
16 or 5.6 percent of the destitute elderly were found
to be never married. Among them 13 (81.3 percent) are
male and only 3 (18.7 percent) are female. If the setting
is considered 13 out of 16 are living in Old home and
the other 3 are living with family. Among 13 living
in the Old home 12 were male and only 1 was female (Table
3). It is likely in Bangladesh that never married or
single persons are more destitute than married persons.
So these findings indicate that most never married destitute
elderly are living in the Old home, as they are the
most vulnerable in terms of destitution.
4.2. Socio-economic Characteristics of the Destitute
Elderly
4.2.1. Educational Status of the Destitute Elderly
Education is an important indicator of human resources
development. The level of education, accessibility to
family income and years of education are highly correlated
to socio-economic status. Most of the destitute elderly
respondents of this study were found to be illiterate
and it is 67.1 percent in both Categories (Table 4).
Click
here for Table 4: Educational Status of the Destitute
Elderly by Categories and Gender
If setting is considered, more
illiterate destitute elderly are seen with family than
the Old home. It is 84.7 percent for the destitute elderly
with family and 48.9 percent for the destitute elderly
living in the Old home, respectively. However, a higher
literacy rate is found among the destitute elderly living
in the Old home (51.1 percent) than the destitute elderly
living with family (15.3 percent). If education is considered
as means of availing better services (as we know all
the services are provided by the Old home at no cost)
and overcoming a vulnerable situation, it is seen that
the destitute elderly living in the Old home are more
advanced than the destitute elderly living with family.
It indicates that level of knowledge and awareness is
higher among the destitute elderly living in the Old
home than the destitute elderly living with family.
Furthermore, if primary education is considered as basic
education it is seen that the major proportion of the
destitute elderly having primary education living with
family rather than Old home, is 72.7 percent and 26.8
percent respectively.
4.2.2. Occupation of the Destitute Elderly
Able-bodied persons in Bangladesh are involved in different
types of occupations. They work in different fields
such as agriculture, cottage industry, trades and commerce,
and small trades and service sectors (GOB, 2010:xv).
We collected information from the destitute elderly
about their occupation. It may be mentioned here that
the destitute elderly living in the Old home have no
occupation at present. So, their previous occupations
have been considered for presentation.
Click here
for Table 5 : Occupational Status of the Destitute Elderly
Living in Old home by Gender
It is seen that the elderly living in the Old home were
engaged in different occupations before coming to this
home. It is also seen that there were differences in
occupation among the male and female inmates of the
Old home. The highest proportion (28.9 percent) of males
was service holder, followed by 23.7 percent businessman,
17.1 percent agriculture and so on. 14.5 percent mentioned
that they didn't have any work. Compared to the males,
the highest proportion (58.7 percent) of the female
elderly living in the Old home were housewife, followed
by 15.9 percent beggary, 4.8 percent service and so
on. 11.1 percent mentioned that they didn't have any
work. If beggary is considered as the acute level of
destitution or vulnerability it is seen that female
elderly were more destitute than male elderly who are
now living in the Old home. It may be mentioned that
about 12.2 percent elderly (both male and female) did
not work due to their physical incapability. They were
dependent on others in society. A significant proportion
(15.9 percent) of the female elderly was involved in
beggary. So, it can be said that the female elderly
living in the Old home are more vulnerable than the
male elderly.
Of the destitute elderly living with family (144) do
have a present occupation. Their occupational statuses
have been presented in Table 6. It is seen that the
highest proportion of the destitute elderly living with
family (42.4 percent) is fully dependent on the other's
income at present. It does not mean however, that they
were never engaged in work, in their young age. It appears
that they were mostly involved in agriculture and day
labor. The rest of the destitute elderly living with
family were engaged in service (2.8 percent), agriculture
(9.7 percent), day labour (3.5 percent), business (3.5
percent), rickshaw pulling (0.7 percent), beggary (6.3
percent), housewife (27.1 percent) and others (4.2 percent).
The detailed information available about the present
status of occupation of the elderly living with family
is seen in Table 6. So it is to be said that the service
holder is higher in the Old home than with family and
dependent is higher with family compared to the old
home. It indicates that the educated people i.e. service
holder, prefer independency (as the number of elderly
having better educational background and in service)
than the destitute elderly living with family.
Click here
for Table 6: Occupational Status of the Destitute Elderly
Living with family by Gender
4.2.3. Income of the Destitute
Elderly
Income is an important factor in determining the socio-economic
status of the households in Bangladesh, but it is very
difficult to collect the actual income of agriculture-based
households because many of them think that it is their
private matter and did not wish to disclose their income.
Moreover they do not maintain a ledger or cashbook regarding
their income and expenditure (Rahman, 2002:45). Among
283 destitute elderly respondents of this study, 139
living in the Old home had no income, as they are not
involved in income earning activities at present. So
their income before coming to this Old home is considered.
It is seen that 13.2 percent of the male elderly and
63.5 percent of female elderly living in the Old home
had no income. Generally, women of Bangladesh are involved
in household activities. That is why a higher proportion
of female elderly having no income is not unlikely.
The major proportion of the male elderly (85.5 percent)
had income before coming to the Old home compared to
the female elderly (30.2 percent). If it is considered
that more income means more empowerment and less vulnerability,
it can be said that female elderly were more destitute
and underpowered than male elderly in this regard. In
terms of income status, a difference is seen between
male elderly and female elderly. The difference is statistically
significant as the chi-square value is 44.16 with degree
of freedom 1 and significance is 0.000.
Click
here for Table 7: Whether the Destitute Elderly Living
in Old home Had Income
The amount of previous monthly income of the destitute
elderly living in the Old home is presented in Table
4.10. Data reveals that average income of all the destitute
elderly living in the Old home was BDT 2,345/= only.
The highest proportion (35.7 percent) of the destitute
elderly living in the Old home had monthly income between
BDT 1000-2000 followed by 28.1 percent BDT 1-1000, 20.2
percent BDT 3000 and more, and 19.0 percent BDT 2000-3000
(Table 4.10). If gender is considered, it is seen that
the average monthly income of the male elderly is much
higher than that of the female elderly, BDT 2,676/-
and BDT 1,210/- respectively. Highest proportion (44.6
percent) of the male elderly had a monthly income between
BDT 1000-2000. However the highest proportion (89.5
percent) of the female elderly had a monthly income
between BDT 1-1000. In the same way 49.2 percent of
the male elderly had a monthly income of BDT 2,000 and
above, compared to only one female elderly in this category.
It may be mentioned again that a large proportion (69.8
percent) of the female elderly didn't have any income
compared to only 14.5 percent of male elderly. These
findings clearly indicate the higher vulnerability of
the female elderly than male elderly, living in the
Old home.
Click
here for Table 8: Monthly Income of the Destitute Elderly
Living in the Old home
On the other hand, 69.4 percent
of the destitute elderly living with family have no
regular income at present. Only 30.6 percent of the
destitute elderly have some monthly income (Table 9).
The highest proportion (36.4 percent) of elderly living
with family who have income belong to BDT 1-1000 category,
followed by 31.8 percent BDT 1000-2000, 22.7 percent
BDT 2000-3000, and 9.1 percent BDT 3000 and more category.
The average monthly income of the destitute elderly
living with family is BDT 2,045/- only.
Click here for Table 9: Whether
the Destitute Elderly Living with family Have Income
If gender is considered of the destitute elderly living
with family, like destitute elderly living in the Old
home, it is seen that almost all (87.5 percent) the
female elderly do not have any income at present compared
to 51.4 percent male destitute elderly living with family.
The average monthly income of the female elderly is
much lower than male elderly, BDT 1,333/ and BDT 2,228/-
respectively. Income is the most important criteria
of destitution. Hence, findings clearly show that female
elderly are more destitute than male elderly living
with family.
Click
here forTable 10: Present Monthly Income of the Destitute
Elderly Living with family
Findings based on income data
reveal that overall income level of the destitute elderly
living in both categories, i.e., old home and with family,
is very low. This is lower for the destitute elderly
living with family, indicating that they are more vulnerable.
Female elderly of both categories were found to be in
a miserable condition in terms of income. Almost all
of them do not have any income. These findings again
indicate that female impoverished in the society deserve
more attention.
4.3. Family and Household Characteristics
of the Destitute Elderly
4.3.1. Family Size of the Destitute Elderly
The family is the most important primary group in society.
It is the first and the most immediate social environment
where a child is exposed. All the activities of the
family are performed around the well-being of the family
member. Similarly lack of proper family role and desertion
by family member may create destitution and vulnerability
in life for everybody. So it was necessary to know their
family structure. I inquired of the destitute elderly
about their family members. The destitute elderly living
in the Old home at present, discussed their previous
family status where they lived prior to coming to the
Old home. It is evident from Table 4.13 that the destitute
elderly living with family had a larger family than
the destitute elderly living in the Old home. The average
number of family members is 3.1 and 4.2 for the Old
home and with family respectively. It is not unlikely,
because earlier it was seen that the destitute elderly
living in the Old home are more educated, service holders,
and had more income. All these indicate they are more
conscious about family size. Moreover, it is also true
that the destitute elderly living with family came to
the Old home because they didn't have family support
to look after them. Again, the highest proportion (68.4
percent) of family of the destitute elderly living in
the Old home consisted of four members (they have only
two children) compared to the destitute elderly living
with family (48.0 percent). The rest of the destitute
elderly living in the Old home (31.7 percent) had 5
to 8 family members. On the other hand, the highest
proportion of family (52.0 percent) of the destitute
elderly living with family consisted of 5-8 members.
Of the 29.2 percent and 18.8 percent families of the
destitute elderly living with family, the familyconsisted
of 1-2 members and 3-4 members. It may be assumed that
the study area is agricultural based, so they prefer
more family members. So, it can be said that the destitute
elderly living in the Old home preferred small families
than the destitute elderly living with family. They
(the elderly of the family) think that the joint and
big sized family is more helpful for agricultural based
society like the study area. That is why they prefer
a bigger family. If highest family member range of 7-8
is considered, it is seen that more families are in
this range of the destitute elderly living with family
compared to the destitute elderly living in the Old
home. It is 11.1 percent for the destitute elderly living
with family and 5.8 percent for the destitute elderly
living in the Old home.
Click
here for Table 11: Family Size of the Destitute Elderly
by Categories
4.3.2. Family Life of the
Destitute Elderly
Family is a great shelter for all people. Human children
are born, grow, develop and die in the family. That
is why a family atmosphere is considered as the basic
shelter for a human being. All the destitute elderly
interviewed in this study were asked about their family
atmosphere. As the elderly residing in the Old home
do not have family now their family environment before
coming to this old home has been considered. It is seen
that about forty percent (39.6 percent) of the destitute
elderly living in the Old home were not living with
family. They were living in the rail or bus station
before entering the the Old home. So they were actually
rootless people and may be considered as at the highest
level of destitution in the society. So it is a great
opportunity for them to be in the the Old age old home.
The rest of the respondents (60.4 percent) replied that
they were living with family. According to our traditional
values, family is accepted as a great shelter or symbol
of security and for the prosperity of human life. However
it is seen that more than one third of the destitute
elderly living in the Old home did not have a family
immediately before coming to this old home. In spite
of the remaining having a permanent family background,
the larger proportion of elderly have become compelled
to come to the the Old home (OCRC). So it can be said
that sometimes the Old home may be considered by the
destitute elderly as better shelter than with family.
Click
here for Table 12: Whether the Elderly had been living
with family before Coming to the Old home
Generally, all human beings, particularly the elderly,
want to live in a family environment. But in many cases
of elderly it has found that the respondents prefer
to live in a floating condition rather than with family.
On the other hand, the elderly receiving the old age
allowance are supposed to live with family according
to the criteria of receiving the old age allowance.
Permanent address is also another criterion of receiving
the old age allowance (Boisko Bhata). 11 out of 144
old age allowance recipients respondents of this study,
do not fulfill this criterion. The rest, 133 respondents
(92.4 percent) fulfill this criterion (Table 4.15).
Click
here for Table 13: Whether the Old Age Allowance Recipient
Destitute Elderly Live with Family by Gender
If gender is considered of the
destitute elderly who are not living in family, 8 out
of 11 were female. So the female elderly are rootless
more than the male elderly, although they were supposed
to live with family. If it is assumed that a 'without
family' situation increases destitution and vulnerability,
findings indicate that the female elderly are more destitute
than male elderly in terms of family living.
4.3.3. Homestead Ownership of the Destitute Elderly
Ownership of a living place is an important factor for
everybody. It plays a vital role in getting various
services from the neighbour and kinship relations. The
temporary inhabitant can become more easily destitute
and vulnerable than permanent inhabitant. That is why
ownership of land has been considered as a symbol of
status and prestige in our traditional social system.
I wanted to know about the ownership of land where the
destitute elderly lived. The elderly living in the Old
home have mentioned their previous homestead ownership.
About 91.4 percent of the elderly living in the Old
home had no self-homestead ownership and only 8.6 percent
of elderly had self-homestead ownership before coming
to the Old home. The detailed information has been presented
in Table 14.
Click
here for Table 14: Homestead Ownership of the Elderly
Living in The Old home by Gender
The available information reveals
(Table-4.17) that about 44.1 percent of destitute elderly
living in the Old home at present, lived on public land
before coming to the Old home, 22 percent in a rented
house, 18.1 percent a relative's house and 15.7 percent
in other places. Others include the working place, bus
and railway station, neighbor's house etc. The data
indicates that the elderly living in the Old home were
rootless before coming to the Old home. Almost all (61
out of 63 or 96.8 percent) of destitute female elderly
living in the Old home were rootless compared to 86.8
percent destitute male elderly.
Click here for Table 15: Living
Place of the Elderly before Coming to The Old home
In the case of elderly living
with family and receiving old age allowance, it is evident
from Table 16 that more than three-quarters (76.4 percent)
have a homesteaded. The emaining 23.6 percent had no
homestead. These landless destitute elderly used to
live on public land (47.1 percent), rented house (8.8
percent), relative's house (2.9 percent) and other places
(14.7 percent). From the data presented in Table 17,
it can be said that the elderly living in the Old home
were more vulnerable before coming home.
Click
here for Table 16: Homestead Ownership of the Destitute
Elderly Living with family
Click
here for Table 17: Living
Place of the Destitute Elderly Living with family
4.3.4. Offspring of the Destitute
Elderly
Everybody wants to live with children. In Bangladesh,
children are considered as a source of income, symbol
of status and prestige in society. Most of the people
consider their children particularly, a son, as a source
of income and social security during old age. It is
evident from Table 18 that more childless elderly (28.1
percent) lived in the Old home compared to the elderly
living with family (10.4 percent). If a childless situation
is considered as destitution, the elderly living in
the Old home are more destitute compared to the elderly
living with family. One of such elderly replied "Baba
Jadi Amar Pulapan Thaktam Baila, Ami Ehane Aitam Na"
(If I have any child, I would not have come to this
place). But it does not mean that only a childless situation
made them more destitute. Data of the present study
supports that in spite of having offspring a mentionable
proportion (71.9 percent) of the elderly lived in the
Old home; that means they were compelled to come to
the Old home through cutting off of the relationship
with their children. It indicates vulnerability of the
elderly living in the Old home.
Click
here for Table 18: Description of Offspring of the Destitute
Elderly by Categories
In case of having children,
it is seen that 41 percent elderly living in the Old
home have 1-2 living children at present, 34 percent
have 3-4 children, 16 percent have 5-6 children, and
9 percent have 7 or more children at present. On the
other hand, half of the destitute elderly (50.4 percent)
living with family have 3-4 living children at present,
27.1 percent have 5-6 children, 18.6 percent have 1-2
living children and 3.9 percent have 7 or more living
children at present (Table 18). The average number of
living children of the destitute elderly living in the
Old home and the destitute elderly living with family
is 1.93 and 2.16 respectively. More destitution and
vulnerability is considered in terms of a childless
situation, therefore the elderly living in the Old home
are more destitute and vulnerable compared to the elderly
living with family.
4.3.5. Economic Condition of the Destitute Elderly
It is a general belief in almost every society that
economic condition plays a vital role in determining
social status. It is considered as an important element
for social stratification all over the world. As usual
the information I received from the economic condition
of the elderly living in the Old home, reflected the
condition before coming to the home. It is already seen
(Table 7 & 9) that about seventy percent (69.4 percent)
of the destitute elderly living with family have no
income at present and 39.6 percent destitute elderly
living in the Old home had no income prior to coming
to the home. So, to assess the economic destitution
and vulnerability of the destitute elderly I inquired
about their economic solvency.
Click
here for Table 19: Economic Condition of the Family
of the Destitute Elderly
It is clearly shown that maximum
elderly (93.6 percent) were economically insolvent/distressed.
Only an insignificant proportion of the elderly (6.4
percent) were economically solvent. If setting is considered
there are more economically insolvent elderly living
with family (99.3 percent) compared to the elderly living
in the Old home (67.8 percent). Difference is clearly
seen between the economic solvency of the destitute
elderly living in the Old home and the elderly living
with family, as chi-square value is 22.85, degree of
freedom 2 and significance 0.000. That is, the difference
is statistically significant. If economic insolvency
is considered as an indicator of destitution, the elderly
living with family are more destitute than the elderly
living in the Old home.
4.3.6. Measures Adopted to Manage the Economic Deficiency
Most of the people of Bangladesh are not economically
solvent. It is seen from Table 4.21 that the maximum
(51.2 percent) of destitute elderly respondents of this
study faced economic deficiency in their life. I inquired
of the destitute elderly about the ways theyadopted
to manage economic deficiency and cope with the economic
distress.
Most of the elderly (76.8 percent) living in the Old
home mentioned that they remained unfed. The next frequently
mentioned measure was borrowing (without payment at
present) from the shop. Other remarkable measures adopted
by the elderly were public assistance (46.4 percent)
through Union Parishad (UP), Non-Government Organization's
assistance (7.14 percent), relative's help (26.8 percent),
a loan from an NGO (5.4 percent) and other measures
(33.9 percent). On the other hand, the highest proportion
(64.0 percent) of the destitute elderly living with
family had taken relative's help as a measure of fulfilling
economic inadequacy. The next mentioned measure is borrowing
from the shop (56.2 percent) to manage their income
inadequacy. To keep unfed (31.5 percent), public assistance
(19.1 percent), NGO assistance (3.4 percent), loan from
NGO (22.5 percent) and other measures (30.3 percent)
are adopted by the elderly living in a family setting
as a means of managing their economic deficiency (Table
20).
Click
here for Table 20: Measures Adopted by the Destitute
Elderly to Manage Deficit, by Categories
On the basis of these data,
it may be concluded that the measures adopted by the
elderly differ by Categories. The data reveals that
the elderly living in the Old home mostly fulfilled
their deficiency by remaining unfed, which indicates
their negative social network, and vulnerability and
the elderly living with family have fulfilled their
deficiency by taking a relative's help, which bears
the positive sign of traditional community support.
CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of the above
review, it can be said that the overall socio-economic
condition of the destitute elderly is not so good in
Bangladesh. The present study indicates that the elderly
wherever they reside (either in the Old home or with
family) are incapable, aged, illiterate, have larger
family members, the highest number of widows/widowers
and are low-income people. Due to such a socio-economic
background they are really destitute, economically distressed
and socially vulnerable. So to uplift the socio-economic
status of the destitute elderly of Bangladesh the following
suggestions are being recommended;
i. Government should take necessary steps to formulate
an elderly policy so that a complete and effective welfare
program for the elderly may be undertaken permanently.
ii. Government should give serious consideration to
introducing a national welfare pension scheme for the
elderly to ensure their income security during old age.
iii. Community based support services should be developed
in order to encourage the families to look after their
elderly members at home.
iv. The government of Bangladesh should take necessary
steps to formulate a law of encouraging relatives to
take responsibility for their destitute, poor relatives.
v. The necessary policy should be taken to uplift the
socio-economic condition of this section of people of
Bangladesh.
REFERENCES
Friedlander, Walter. A.
1955. Introduction to Social Welfare, New Delhi: Prentice-Hall
of India (pvt.) Limited.
Government of Bangladesh, 2010. Bangladesh Economic
Survey-2010. Economic Advisory Sub-division, Finance
Department, Finance Ministry, Dhaka.
Islam, Muhammad Shariful. 2007. Institutional Provisions
for the Welfare of the Destitute Children of Bangladesh:
A Study in Rajshahi City. Rajshahi: Department of Social
Work, University of Rajshahi, p. 24.
Kabir, M. 2003. The Elderly Contemporary Issues, Dhaka:
Presidency Press.
Rahman, Muhammad Habibur, 2002. Introduction to Social
Gerontology: Sociology of Aging. Dhaka: Ashrafia Boighar,
p. 45.
Rao, C. N. Shankar. 2006. Sociology Primary Principles,
New Delhi: S. Chand & Company Limited.
|
