A non-governmental organization, AXIOS Senior Citizens Foundation, has launched a senior citizens club to cater for the welfare of aged people in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
AXIOS founder, Mrs. Murjanatu Habibu, said during the inauguration yesterday in Abuja that the core focus of the foundation was to ease challenges encountered by the elderly and geriatric seniors.
According to her, the organisation is committed to building a vibrant community of senior citizens and changing people’s perception of aging which is usually wrongly linked to retirement, pension collection and withdrawal from society.
Speaking on the aims of the club, she said it would help senior citizens make new friends and learn new useful skills, just as it would make new sources of support available to the senior citizens.
“This senior citizens club will make communities aware of the value of senior citizens, for example, the club will become a place where older adults with depression can be counseled.
“The family and friends of the seniors could also join them for club activities to encourage them stay active through fitness classes taught by professionals, to encourage healthy eating and lifestyle by cooking healthy meals together and receiving dietary advice from a professional nutritionist.
“The purpose of the club is to elevate the entire community through various social activities and fun games, etc, and to re-engage the seniors back to the society by making them stay socially connected and contributing strongly to their mental health and well-being,” she said.
A dietician from the General Hospital, Keffi, Nasarawa State, Mrs. Jane Paul-Edeh, who spoke to the elderly during the inauguration, said old age is a privilege and a social success, adding that proper care and attention should be given to them to have a sense of belonging.
She explained to them that nutrition is a good component for the success of aging.
Administrative secretary of the foundation, Mr. Abdulraqib Jegede, while speaking with journalists said the club was funded by the founder, and appealing to the government to support it to reach out to the aged in the society.
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