Relief for Older Disaster Survivors

Photo by Reuters/STR/Landov

An older woman in Myanmar’s Kyaik Lat township follows her granddaughter down a dirt road pockmarked with puddles. In Pingbian, China, a woman washes dishes in a home that has no roof or walls. They’re among hundreds of thousands of older people who survived recent disasters—a group sometimes forgotten when natural catastrophes strike. 

“In emergencies, it’s often women and children who are identified as the most vulnerable, and older people can be excluded from relief efforts,” says Julia Pitman, spokeswoman for HelpAge International, a 25-year-old, London-based network of not-for-profits focused on empowering older people worldwide. “But they face particular challenges, such as lack of mobility, difficulty accessing relief distributions, specific nutritional needs and health issues compounded by age.”

Thanks to its network of affiliates and local partners on the ground, such as the YMCA, HelpAge moved in quickly after May’s cyclone in Myanmar and earthquake in China. The organization delivered relief packages and offered funds to buy essential items. For more, go to www.helpage.org.