UGANDA: UEC Lay Apostolate Department holds Seminar on Healthy Ageing
There is an old saying that goes, ‘If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.’ Thus, in an effort to help Ugandans age gracefully and successfully, the Lay Apostolate Department of the Uganda Episcopal Conference (UEC) organized a seminar on Healthy Ageing.
The Workshop, which was the first of its kind, was held from October 18-22 in the Diocese of Kasana-Luweero. It ran under the theme ‘Aging Graciously Upwards with our Families’.
According to the Executive Secretary of the UEC Lay Apostolate Department, Rev. Fr. Fred Tusingire, the society norms and family structure in many parts of the world including Uganda are changing and the elderly are suffering due to the impact of this changing scenario. Consequently, the workshop was held with an objective of preparing people to retire happily and in a holistic way.
“An aging population doesn’t come without challenges. However, the secret to success of life journey is to fall upwards no matter the challenges. Many people plan carefully for their financial futures but fail to devote time and effort to other aspects of their lives including the spiritual aspect. If a person is assisted in his/her spiritual aspect of life he will maintain a positive outlook throughout life and remain mentally and physically active thus, he will retire successfully. Healthy and happy aging requires a real investment,” he said.
“People need to be well prepared for the ageing needs and changes in all aspects, including the society and economy. We have to take care of our body, our mind, our relationships,” he added.
The five-day seminar discussed about emerging issues pertaining to ageing such as the journey in planning early for retirement, inner governance, drawing power from prayer, healthy ageing, and the key to successful life management.
It attracted over 30 participants from various countries including Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and hosts Uganda.
The United States Census Bureau data on International Population Reports shows that the world population continues to grow older rapidly as fertility rates have fallen to very low levels in most world regions and people tend to live longer.
“When the global population reached 7 billion in 2012, 562 million (or 8.0 percent) were aged 65 and over. In 2015, 3 years later, the older population rose by 55 million and the proportion of the older population reached 8.5 percent of the total population,” says the International Population Reports (released on March 2016)
Growth of world’s older population will continue to outpace that of younger population over the next 35 year. Even countries experiencing slower aging will see a large increase in their older populations. Africa, for instance, is projected to still have a young population in 2050 (with those at older ages projected to be less than 7 percent of the total regional population), yet the projected 150.5 million older Africans would be almost quadruple the 40.6 million in 2015.
By Jacinta W. Odongo
Media Officer, Uganda Episcopal Conference
