PICTURED ABOVE: Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, (right) admires the unveiled plaque at the newly renovated Vauxhall Senior Citizens’ Village, along with President of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons, Marilyn Rice-Bowen (far left); Acting Director of the National Assistance Board (NAB), Colleen Walcott; and NAB Chairman, Reverend Wayne Kirton. Also pictured are: (in the background) Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Jehu Wiltshire, Special Advisor on Elder Affairs, Cynthia Forde (2nd right), members of staff, and onlookers
Barbados is not just growing older, it’s transforming into an aged and even super-aged society, according to Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Kirk Humphrey. Revealing the latest census data, he highlighted that a staggering two in every five Barbadians are now over 50, with projections indicating that one in every five will surpass 65, and one in every four will cross the 60-year mark.
Gone are the days of an aging society; Barbados is on the brink of embracing a super-aged status. Humphrey expressed the urgent need for a shift in perspective, emphasizing that the aging population holds untapped resources that can and should be leveraged.
Addressing the audience at the reopening of the Vauxhall Senior Citizens Village in Christ Church, renovated at a cost of $2.5 million, Humphrey urged for a departure from viewing older individuals as a burden on taxpayers. Instead, he called for a reevaluation of how society can tap into the ambitions and productivity of the elderly, emphasizing the importance of enabling them to give back.
“The truth is that most persons in Barbados now… are heading towards 50. Forty percent of Barbadians are 50 or older,” stated Humphrey, underlining the need for a paradigm shift. He stressed the importance of finding opportunities for older individuals to work if they desire, advocating for a more inclusive approach to development.
The Vauxhall Senior Citizens Village, a symbol of this evolving societal landscape, underwent extensive renovations. The $2.5 million project included work on 14 buildings, enhanced lighting, upgraded plumbing, and the installation of water tanks and a backup generator. It stands not only as a physical space but as a testament to the evolving narrative of an aging Barbados seeking to empower and engage its senior citizens in meaningful ways
Resiliency & Reintegration Unit On The Cards For 2024
A new unit – the Resiliency and Reintegration Unit – will soon be located in the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs.
Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, revealed this today as he addressed the post-Cabinet press conference at Webster’s Industrial Park, Wildey, St. Michael.
Explaining the rationale for the Unit, which he noted should be in place by April 1, Mr. Humphrey said it was “going to be vital to the delivery of services”.
Adding that over the last few years, Barbados has been in a climate crisis; facing disasters; and persons had been evicted from their households and some made homeless, he said the unit is meant to address those things.
Describing the concept, he noted that such a Unit would have been necessary as a response to issues related to Hurricane Elsa such as housing needs which Government had been called upon to address at that time.
Noting that his Ministry was also now responding to housing needs where there is no Unit to address these, he said: “So, this one Unit brings together those three areas primarily… It allows us to fill a gap in the Government’s delivery of social services, and from April 1, this Unit will be in place. This Unit is now in the Estimates of Expenditure and will be functioning from April 1.”
Stating that it would not be staffed by new people, but would be a bringing together of two departments, the Poverty Alleviation Relief Programme in the Ministry and the Poverty Coordinator, he said what would be needed would be “a couple of field investigators to go and do some of this work”.
Disclosing that it would be a 24-hour response system, he said: “There are many times where these things happen in the middle of the night, and persons call the Welfare Department; persons call the Ministry, and of course the officers work nine-to-five, …. but these persons will be available 24 hours to allow persons to know that in the event that they have a disaster that this is a 24-hour Government, and we will be in a position to respond to those issues as they arise.”
