Aging in Community Project in Sri Lanka

What make people happy? ( more money? comfort? covenience?)

(left: residents' room, right: these are everything that residents own)

I have visited one of the oldest elder care housing in Sri Lanka today. This facility was founded in 1917 and  providing care to 7 elders. Currently, 150 elderly people over 60 years old are living in this place, and 8 nurses currently provide the care with 5 administrative support staff members. They receive very little support from government due to the lack of social policy that help elderly care in Sri Lanka . The government’s support is 300 rupee ($3) a month per person, which provides only one day meal. The rest of the income is covered by the donations from community. Most of the meals served to the residents are donated (DANA) in two ways: one way is to bring home cooked meals and serve it to elders, and the other way is to donate cash ($30-$40 to cover one meal for 60 elders and all staff members).

Amazingly, people have already pledged to provide more than 98% of the meals that would be served in the coming three months. In Sri Lanka, it is common for people sign up to provide meals for elders (Dana -donation) or do a charitable act on special holidays, birthdays, memorial days of a family member, instead of receiving gifts from others. While many people in Sri Lanka do not have much access to comfort, convenience, or financial resources like in developed countries, they still practice giving and helping others. When I learned of this practice, I was quite embarrassed by my greed and selfishness.

The physical environment of this facility was quite shocking for me, because 12 elders share the same room, a dementia resident was isolated and locked in a small room, and more than 50 elders were sharing the same bathroom facility. Moreover, the culture of this organization was very much institutional, a nurse talked only about medical treatment and proud of her skills and career, and managers valued efficiency of staff members. In spite of all of these setbacks, elders in this facility seemed to be relatively happy about their lives, because they have a safe place to sleep, foods to eat, and given medical care if they need. In fact, most of them had a peaceful face with beautiful smile. One lady told me that “I am happy in any situation because I practice Buddhism. I have everything I need here, it could be better if I lived with family. But I am satisfied with living here and my life.”

After the visit, I thought that the elders in the facility might have such strength and wisdom to detach themselves from materialistic desires, and reach their inner peace to be grateful for what they have. When I saw the peaceful facial expression of the elders in this facility despite the low quality of their physical environment with the institutional operation, I was puzzled by the real meaning of the “quality of life of elders.” While developed countries such as Japan or the United States can afford to provide comfort, convenience, and safety for elders in beautifully designed living environment, I do not recall seeing anybody with such a peaceful facial expression in any elderly care settings in both countries.

It is quite ironic to learn that elders, who do not have access to a comfortable and convenient living environment, have more peace within themselves for their lives. I hope that we can do something to improve the quality of their living environment to fit with what they really deserve to have.