El-Wedad Society Implements a Workshop Entitled “The Reality and Challenges of the Elderly-2018”

     Believing in the significance role of the civil and official institutions in defending the rights of the elderly and addressing some of the most serious challenges facing them in meeting their needs, El-Wedad Society for Community Rehabilitation conducted a workshop entitled “The Reality and Challenges of the Elderly-2018- in Palestine in General and the Gaza Strip in Particular”. It was implemented through the Family and The Elderly Program in the presence of representatives of the ministries and civil organizations working in the elderly field in addition to 23 representatives from the elderly themselves.

     The workshop aimed to meet the needs of the elderly in all fields and to identify their reality and the main challenges facing them by presenting a set of open questions. The session included discussing their most important contributions and efforts to serve the elderly in addition to the role of NGOs and ministries in defending their rights and working to develop and enrich their strategic plan.

The meeting was opened by Mr. Kamal Abu Qamar, the Acting Executive Director of El-Wedad Society for Community Rehabilitation, welcoming the guests for their great role in serving the elderly. He stressed the need to establish a national base that includes the most significant needs, priorities, and nature of interventions for this significant group of the society. He also talked about their real condition in Palestine through statistical facts and the remarkable efforts exerted in this area by the ministries and the community institutions in support of their rights.

       For his part, Dr. Naeem Al-Ghalban, Chairman of the society, emphasized the need to adopt community-based voluntary initiatives with the participation of the elderly and to invest their unlimited expertise by the civil and official institutions that support them.

     At the end of the meeting, the participants praised the efforts exerted by the Ministry of Community Development, stressing the need to continue the support provided to them in all fields. For instance, managing their file, organizing the work process, distributing the efforts, and involving the institutions in forming the draft of their law, especially amid the major challenges faced by this category in the Gaza Strip.