My Experience of Community Service in other countries:

Recently I spent my time in the Philippines and I was surprised how the national government has taken measures from the legislative point by enacting the Philippines Senior Citizens Act.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7432 . AN ACT TO MAXIMIZE THE CONTRIBUTION OF SENIOR CITIZENS TO NATION BUILDING, GRANT BENEFITS AND SPECIAL PRIVILEGES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

What I have experienced and seen how senior citizens are treated in Canada astounds me. I cannot believe how the entire Philippine civil and business system treats seniors with respect and compassion. Do you know that they take the Philippines Senior Citizens Act very seriously? There are separate lines for senior citizens at banks, grocery stores, government offices, etc. Upon my intervention, the Gaisano Country Mall installed seats for seniors and persons with disabilities (PWDs) who had to wait for a taxi.

I do not expect this to happen in Canada, but what is missing is the true compassion for seniors, mainly because most people do not understand that they are themselves already engaged in the aging process and one day they too will face the challenges seniors are facing today.

Another example, in Goa, I was contacted by the Inspector General of Police to give my feedback on a unique information system of senior citizens interacting with the police. This was caused by the number of deaths of seniors in their homes, where they live alone, since their children have left the nest.

The system involved the police registering the names and addresses of seniors living alone and providing their next of kin so that in the event of a sad demise, the police would be able to contact the next of kin – rather than having the deceased senior lying in the home without the authorities knowing about it. The seniors were also provided with a phone number for seniors to call when they need help with any matters. The IGP informed me that in spite of the good intentions, the program was not working. When I met with the IGP I suggested to him that if he could get the seniors to get involved in the system, they would be happy to be part of the solution.

I suggested to the IGP to get the seniors themselves involved in the registration system. If every police station had a desk and chair provided for the use of the registration system, every day a senior could volunteer their time to man the desk and take the information from their peers. This would have several benefits:

1. The seniors would be happy that they are part of the solution.
2. The seniors would be comfortable dealing with another senior citizen.
3. The seniors would get to know the police better than before and therefore have a connection when there is a need.
4. It would save the police manpower to deal with other police work.

The IGP was excited with my suggestion and even provided snacks for the seniors volunteering their time and arranged to pick them up and drop them at their residence. And through my intervention, he put a sign in the police station “Senior Citizen on Duty” instead of Officer on Duty.

After reading my post, you are kindly requested to complete the following survey and email to me at Tino8466@Right2Write.ca. Thank you kindly:

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