The event, which was instituted a year ago, is to enable the church to bring the aged individuals together to wine and dine with them, as well as to pat them on the back for their immense contributions towards the growth and development of society.

As part of the event, the beneficiaries who received some items were educated on good health practices to prolong their lives for the benefit of their respective families. The St Oscar Kassena Nankana Union of the OLA Cathedral Catholic Church, Tamale, supported the event with an amount of GH¢4,000.

At the second edition of the ceremony held last Saturday, the Vice-Chairman, Parish Finance Committee, Amoah Norbert Achemwira, said the annual event was birthed through a lecture delivered by the Bishop of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese, Most Rev. Alfred Agyenta, on the need to support the aged in communities.

He said through the inspiration from the Diocesan Bishop, they found it prudent to institutionalise the event so that annually, the aged could be brought together to know themselves and share ideas that the youth could take a cue from.

He stated that as a society, there was a need for the aged to be given special care and support at all times, especially by their family members, so that they felt part of the immediate community.

He expressed worry that particularly in the northern part of Ghana, due to the busy schedules of relatives, the aged were often left in the house with nobody to immediately attend to their challenges.

He said that 11 out of the 100 aged persons who benefitted from the event in the maiden edition had passed on and could not take part in this year’s edition.

“There is no doubt that old age is accompanied by several challenges and relatives of elderly persons must ensure that they assist such individuals through such phases of their lives,” he stated. 

He stated that although the government had come up with free registration of the aged onto the National Health Insurance Scheme, there was a need for policies and programmes to support the aged to prolong their lives.

Sense of belonging

The Queenmother of the community, Akansake Jemima Abiibase I, commended the parish for coming up with an initiative, that will go a long way to promote a sense of belonging among the aged.

She appealed to the church to consider including health screening in the next edition of the event, saying: “Such a move will enable the beneficiaries to know their health conditions since some of them face difficulties accessing health facilities due to distance.”

A beneficiary, Akantike Nyaaba, on behalf of the beneficiaries, expressed appreciation to the parish for bringing them together, saying it was a big relief to them, and called for support for the church to sustain the event.