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Our covenant with you, the senior citizens
of Barbados, demands that we:
1. Commit to the devising of sensitive
policies to empower and support
Barbadians in their senior years,
so as to enable them to maintain a
decent quality of life in comfort and in
dignity. In our enlightened society, no
senior citizen should be left to exist in
abject or genteel poverty. We will also
ensure that a system of identifying
and assisting every elderly person who
lives alone is created and implemented
with the help of the NGO sector and
the Church.
2. Commit to an ongoing dialogue with
this key stakeholder group and its
advocates so that our policies will be
informed by broad consultation on the
issues that affect them most directly,
including health and nursing care,
pensions and taxation, housing and
reverse mortgages.
3. Protect them by law from elder
abuse and discrimination whether by
relatives or external caregivers.
4. Find creative and mutually satisfying
ways to value the unpaid work being
done by our community of seniors (but
which makes a significant contribution
to our society) and to tap into the
storehouse of wisdom and experience
that resides among them and to the
spirit of mentorship and volunteerism
that gives them purpose and keeps
them active and alert.
5. Promote active ageing in Barbados.
6. Create avenues for mentorship with the
youth to foster exchange of ideas and
transfer skills between generations.
