January 31, 2007

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Alive and Strong

By Delmy Tania Cruz Hernández

"We are alive, and we are strong!" shouts Celeste Martínez Ruiz, 65, reading from a book called How Not to Feel Old. Viki, seated beside her in a sunny courtyard in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, laughs and waits for her crafts class to start.

Until four months ago, Victoria Maria Hildago, known as Viki, spent most of her days alone in front of her window, with her cats for her only company. "I used to feel lonely and sad. The only place I went was [to] mass," she said.

Like many older adults, Viki, 76, was depressed.

According to the Foundation for Social Investigation, 32 percent of senior citizens attended at Mexican health clinics show signs of depression. The causes of depression in older adults are varied, and specific to their age group, said Dr. Marta Elena Martínez, state delegate for the National Institute of Older Adults, (INAPAM by its Spanish initials.) "Depression in older adults is very common and occurs for several reasons. At a certain age, the losses start mounting. [Senior citizens] begin to lose their loved ones, their social spaces, and the opportunity to work," she said. Other risk factors for geriatric depression include biological changes, illness, the loss of social status, and poverty, reported the Mexican newspaper Excelsior.

Alive and Strong

In Chiapas, though some programs exist that aim to help senior citizens improve their mental and physical health, strengthen family relationships, and overcome isolation, experts say such efforts are not widespread enough.

Viki is one of 23 people who attends the Casa Día a state funded adult day care center, the only one of its kind in San Cristóbal de las Casas.

Viki is one of five Casa Día students who receive a scholarship. For most of her life, she ran a canned-goods store with her husband until his death three years ago. Now she supports herself by selling canned goods informally, mostly to friends and acquaintances. The rest pay a monthly fee ranging from 300 to 500 pesos (about $30-$50 USD.) The state government funds most of the program, but not all of it; tuition income makes up the difference.

Alive and Strong

Casa Día cannot afford to give more scholarships, said coordinator Elisa Sáez., Research shows that financial problems often contribute to geriatric depression, meaning that some of those who might benefit most from the program can't afford it.

Mexico's National Population Council found that 15.7 percent of senior citizens have no income and 29 percent earn less than minimum wage. Even elders who are well enough to work often have trouble finding jobs because of age discrimination. Martínez said that because elders are no longer economically productive, "they, like everyone else who doesn't produce capital, are seen as burdens. Their life experience isn't valued."

Mexico does not provide a universal pension for senior citizens, but Chiapas' new governor, Jaime Sabines, recently unveiled a plan to provide a monthly stipend of 500 pesos (about $50 USD) to all adults over 64 in the state. Martínez said that it's a good start. Though the program has been criticized for not providing a larger pension, she said the money should help seniors meet more of their basic needs and relieve some of the financial burden for their children, helping to improve family ties.

Madai Narváez often visits her mother, Clemen Hernández de Narvaez, at the Casa Día to see her progress. Clemen was confined to a wheelchair and had kidney problems when she first entered the center, six months ago. Now, thanks to physical therapy, she is walking again. Narváez's visits her mother daily to assist her in her activities. Because of her illness, Clemen requires more special attention than the others at Casa Día. Narváez said that she prefers that her mother be at the center instead of home alone.

Armando Bermudez lives with his wife, but he goes to Casa Día for social interaction. Bermudez, 76, was a debt collector but was hit by a car while on the job. Since then, he has been handicapped and unable to work. He said he began feeling alone and useless after his accident because even at home he couldn't help his wife care for their three granddaughters.

Alive and Strong

Casa Día has helped ease his isolation."I'm really happy here," he said.

"We have seen that interaction and staying active helps them. It heals them and helps them become more self-sufficient. They walk and they feel alive once again,"Sáez said.

But, Casa Día isn't the only model in Chiapas for helping adults, said Martínez. She would like to see more neighborhood-based senior citizens groups like the ones INAPAM organizes. At least 450 elders take part in these groups in Tuxtla-Gutíerrez, the state capital. The local approach reaches more elders, she said, because they don't have to go far from their homes and they strengthen already-formed bonds between neighbors.

Martínez said that cultural differences often prevent many indigenous elders from attending government-sponsored day cares, but if they could attend groups made of their peers, they would feel at home.

As Viki and Armando wait for their next class to begin, they talk about plans for their next celebration. Around here, almost everything is cause for celebration, said Sáez, because they believe it important to mark every day they are alive, and every day that they share.

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