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by
Silvia Marangoni
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"Long
Live the Elderly"
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Roma - Italy
From years
of experience of the
service to the elderly of the Community of Sant'Egidio, the �Long
Live the Elderly� movement started
in 1998 and to date has 10,000 members. The Movement is a proposal
to those, elderly and non-elderly, who wish to live their old
age
as an opportunity for themselves and for others.
The elderly, today more than yesterday, are growing in numbers in
contemporary society. They can contribute to determining
changes in the current way of conceiving life, to thinking about
and facing old age. They can help us to discover
and to value the gift of the longevity. The Movement
therefore is engaged in giving elderly people the possibility of a
long, productive
and serene life. The
elderly of the Movement are
engaged in evangelisation and the
prayer, in socially useful jobs, in experiences of
voluntary service and service to the others.
more
information
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The �letters� of
the
�Long Live the Elderly� movement
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Novara - Italy
The Movement has promoted many initiatives,
in particular the collection of signatures for '
Maria�s
Letter'. In order not to
be institutionalised as an elderly person and to stay in one�s own home." There have already been more than
500,000 signatures throughout Europe.
more information
"
Anna�s Letter" is aimed at favouring voluntary service towards the elderly as
opposed to institutionalising them. The initiative, which followed it is
called "an hour of time" and has involved the energies and availabilities of
many elderly and non-elderly who want to make themselves useful responding to
the requests for company from many elderly
people who are alone.
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The
solidarity of the elderly
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The elderly represent an important human and social
resource .
In Italy more
than 600 over-65�s are involved in service
to those in difficulty. In Germany and Belgium
too, many elderly have started a services to help people in
difficulty.
Some groups are
involved in the preparing the meals that are distributed in the evenings to the homeless. .
Other initiatives of solidarity
involving the elderly are the collections of food,
clothes, medicines, etc. These collections are then
sent to the centres of the Community of Sant'Egidio
for those most in need or are sent to
the poorest countries. (Albania, Sudan, etc.).
Moreover, the elderly promote of charity sales to raise money for
initiatives of solidarity. Others write to prisoners
in isolation and those with no family.
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W�rzburg - Germany
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The International Conference
"My hope will never fail"
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Roma - Italy
In Rome on the 5 May 2000 the International Conference of
the Long Live the Elderly Movement was held. More than 2000 delegates from many
countries of
the world took part, in order to say at the beginning
of the new Millennium: " I do not
stop hoping " (Ps 70.14), that is, that life is
not over, that death is not stronger than love, that the elderly
have confidence for the future. This commitment to hope has been
summarised in a Card of
intentions in which elderly choose to communicate to
everyone that being elderly is something beautiful.
more information
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