Are Indonesia’s elderly changing course?
BBC:
A growing number of elderly people in Indonesia are opting to stay in a care home despite having a family willing to look after them
On any given Wednesday at the Yayasan Ria Pembangunan care home for the elderly, on the outskirts of Jakarta, you’ll find 78-year-old Sisi Sihombing participating in a gentle exercise routine with her friends, in an attempt to keep her body fit and her mind active.
Dozens of elderly residents take part in this keep-fit workout. It’s an energetic way to ward off the loneliness that old age can sometimes bring. …………..
Mrs Sihombing one of the few residents with close family living nearby – but this sprightly grandmother of seven made the unusual decision to move here voluntarily, after her husband died.
“I didn’t want to be a burden to my children,” she tells me in her small dorm, decorated with photographs of her grandchildren.