The Asian values of living in a community consists of the extended family members which includes parents, grandparents, uncles, nephews and even other family members.
But this trend is slowly disintegrating to ape the Western style of sending your elderly members to old folks homes.
So much so that it is even now becoming common for children to abandon their elderly parents even at hospitals.
To show some comfort and care for these senior citizens and also to offer some quality food, the Penang Hindu Association (PHA) offered a treat for residents in the Little Sisters of the Poor-Home for the Aged in Georgetown.
They were treated to some authentic Indian cuisine made up of Idli with sambar and chutney, roti canai with dhall, vadai, idiyappom with brown sugar/coconut along with chicken curry with potatoes.
Present was PHA president P. Murugiah and his able committee members to serve the food and spend time with the elderly residents.
“Many senior citizens, some retired from senior posts in the government and private sectors, have worked half their lives to feed, clothe and provide sound education for their children in order for them to have a comfortable life in future. Upon reaching the status of being categorised as ‘senior citizens’, many do not have a reason to rejoice as their children conveniently hand them over to care centres to spend the rest of their twilight years there as their children go on to live their life to the fullest, oblivious to the sadness felt by the parents. More often than not, these parents have the feeling of being abandoned by their own children who rarely, if ever, visit them after placing them in the centres.
“These days we can also see eye catching adverts in the print and electronic media as well as huge billboards advertising the services provided by care centres speaks volumes on the trend of the younger generations to hand over their parents to caregivers when they become old and frail,” said Murugiah.
However, this scenario turns uglier when the parents end up in the streets when their children do not want to take care of their old parents and could not afford care centers.
To this regard and play their part in a caring community, PHA often embarks on this mission by providing a special lunch and other assistance to these homes.
Meanwhile, PHA sincerely thanks all well wishers and donors for their support and contribution to make this event possible.