Today, we mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day by uncovering a painful truth often hidden in plain sight the growing care burden on elderly grandparents in Zimbabwe. As economic pressures push parents to leave in search of greener pastures, many never return, abandoning their children to the care of already-struggling grandparents. These elderly, mostly grandmothers, are left to stretch their pensions, if any, to provide food, shelter, and school fees. They walk long distances to plead with schools, search for food aid, and take on casual labor well beyond their years.
The consequences are devastating. Some children drop out of school. Others, especially girls, are forced into early marriages and boys become drug addicts. The cycle of poverty and vulnerability deepens not just for the children, but for the grandparents too. This is not cultural duty, it is neglect, it is abuse. And on this day, we recognize that elder abuse isn’t just physical but sometimes it is the heavy burden they carry in our stead, which is beyond what their age should carry.
kampungbet
Leave a Reply