Abandoned elderly get new home

Elderly people sit at the Cambodia Retirement Village in Prey Veng province this month. (Photo by: photo supplied)

Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Mom Kunthear
The Phnom Penh Post

At the age of 84, Prey Veng province resident Pin Yorn has been living hand-to-mouth. He is unable to work due to his age, and three of his seven children are dead while three others moved far away after getting married.

With little support from his family, Pin Yorn says he and his wife, 82-year-old Sam In, “sometimes don’t have enough to eat” and are reliant on handouts from neighbours and from one of his daughters living nearby.

But thanks to a new US$9,000 project aimed at helping the elderly of Cham Bak village in Kanh Chriech district’s Chong Ampil commune, he is now looking forward to a brighter future.

“I hope that I have delicious food to eat and a good place to sleep before I die,” he said yesterday.

By 2025, Cambodia will have a population of 1.5 million elderly

(Photo: Phil Borges, CARE)

02 October 2010
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Komping Puoy

The director of the department of retirement pension of the ministry of Social Affairs indicated that, currently, Cambodia counts over 1 million people over the age of 60, and this number will increase to 1.5 million by 2025. Hol Phal, the director of retirement pension indicated that elderly people are defined by the UN as those who are over 60, and extremely old people are those who are over 80. The majority of elderly Cambodians live in the countryside where the living condition is tight and they lack understanding in hygiene and healthcare. In general, the elderly live with their daughters, or if they do not have daughters, they live with their sons or in the pagodas. In general, it is observed that elderly men have shorter life expectancy than elderly women.

Face expression of elderly Cambodians in waiting

Left: An elderly Cambodian woman waits to attend the UN-backed genocide tribunal in Phnom Penh. Cambodia's genocide tribunal postponed Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea's first public court hearing Monday amid a row over his legal team, raising concerns for further delays to the UN-backed proceedings.(AFP/Saeed Khan)

Right: Noun Chea, a former Khmer Rouge leader and right hand man to Pol Pot, waits during a hearing Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, at the U.N.-back genocide tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A Cambodian court adjourned a hearing Monday over former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea's appeal against his detention by Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal tasked with seeking justice in the communist movement's atrocities in late 1970s. (AP Photo /Tang Chhin Sothy, Pool)

Cambodian Ageing People

(Photo: Phil Borges, CARE)

18-10-2007
By K.S.
theMatureMarket.com

Demographic Characteristics

In Cambodia the population ageing phenomenon does not escape from the global trend in the world population. The Survey of Elderly in Cambodia (SEC) in 2004 shows the population age 60 and over represents 6% of the Cambodian total population (13.5 million) amongst about 800 000 older people, the sex distribution is 40.2% for men and 59.8% for women and the age distribution is 34.1% for 60-64, 27.8% for 65-69, 18.7% for 70-74 and 19.4%, 75 and over. Because of the decreasing of fertility: it has dropped to 3.4 and is foreseen to fall to near replacement levels by 2050 and the increasing of the life expectancy for men from 58.6 to 69.3 years and for women from 64.8 to 75.0 years by 2050. The older people accounted for less than 5% of the increase in total population during 1950-2000, they will account for 10% and 26% respectively of the increase during 2000-2025 and 2025-2050. But in spite of this trend Cambodia still ranks lowest in terms of population ageing in South East Asia through the next five decades.

Social Characteristics

Today’s population of older age Cambodians lived through an exceptionally traumatic period of history during their adult years: independence from France in 1953 was followed by civil war and in April 1975 the revolutionary forces of the Khmer Rouge under the dictatorship of Pol Pot established political violence, severe food shortages and lack of medical care resulted in an estimated nearly 2 million deaths. Many who died were the sons, daughters or spouses of today’s older-aged population.

This period was followed by the worst AIDS epidemic in Asia, many who were infected and died were adult sons and daughters of the current elderly population. Consequence of these accumulated events, 65% of the Cambodian old people are illiterate and have never attended school. The percent distribution according to literacy are: 59.2% not able to read, 22.1% to read with difficulty and 18.7% to read comfortably.
Economic Characteristics

Cambodian older people live in one of the poorest countries in Asia. only a small minority of Cambodian elders indicate they did not work during their lifetime, these people are mostly women. Over a third of the population age 60 and over reported that they were still economically active. Almost half of men compared to 28% of women are still working.

Only 20% of those age 70 and older are still active. Those who are still economically active have similar occupations during their lifetime: most were engaged in farming or fishing or in their own account like sales or Services workers. 40% of Cambodian elders reported that they received some income from their own or their spouse’s work. About 5% received income from rental property. Investment or savings are even rarer sources of income with only 2%. 5% of elders reported receiving pensions especially Civil Servants and Veterans. Financial support from government welfare or organized charity is extremely rare and reported by less than 1% of elders. The remaining, which means the majority of elders report their children or children-in-law as their main source of support. The majority lived in households with at least one of their children and share support that come to the household, and receive some money and other material support from their children.

Health Characteristics

The Survey of Elderly in Cambodia (SEC) focused on the ability of the older people to negotiate successfully within an environment, and as such relates well to physical functioning measures, like the ability to do a physical movement or conduct a usual daily task. One set of functioning measures, called Activities of Daily living (ADL) for example their ability to bathe or dress was underlined by the survey.

Older Cambodians are more likely to state that they believe their health is poor than to state it is good. Most report joint pain, weakness and back pain. A large majority report having difficulties performing physical function such as lifting things and walking.