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Old age: A blessing or a curse?
Watching my mum struggling to move to a spot just two feet away and a comment from my sister, started me thinking about my future when I also attain the age of 84 as my mother.
My sister commented that when she sees my mother struggling to move about then she becomes sad, wondering whether in her old age she was also going to face the same challenge being experienced by my mother.
My mother also commented that when she was a teenager, a man she was staying with used to say that “Onyin nye” meaning growing old is not a good thing and she wondered at the time why the man would say that.
She said that now she fully understands why the man used to say what he said. Simple things that she could do with ease many years ago, is now a huge challenge; such is life.
She recounted how active she was as a young girl, how she used to be part of her school’s athletic team etc. and now this same person is finding it difficult to move quickly around her own home.
Casting my mind back many years ago, this was the woman who moved quickly from our room to the kitchen several times as she prepared food for the family in the compound house we used to live in.
Yet today, just moving from her hall in her flat to the washroom takes her such an effort and a long time to accomplish. I recall a couple of months ago when I took her to the eye clinic and how long it took us to get out of her flat and get to the car parked just outside her main gate.
I held her hand to support her to get down the short flight of stairs and walk about seven metres to the car, I prayed to God to help me such that when I reach her age I would still be strong enough and not be assisted like my mum.
Talking to people about old age and how one can still be strong without being assisted by regular exercise.
Naturally when a person gets older, his or her muscles lose strength gradually and to maintain their strength, regular exercises must be routine way of life. This is the only way to stay strong and healthy as one grows old. Meals also has a very important role in aging gracefully.
Vegetables and fruits help in providing the necessary nutrients required to maintain the body in good shape. There are exercises that one needs to avoid. Exercises that put pressure on your knees, should be avoided at a certain age.
It is recommended that at a certain age, I think 50 and above, jogging should be avoided since it puts pressure on the knees. Enough rest is another critical factor in maintaining good health in old age.
Resting allows your body to rejuvenate and keep the total being healthy and mentally sound since it enables the brain to rest and recover from stress.
Whatever we do, we shall one day grow old and we shall be confronted with all the challenges associated with aging. Due to individual physical differences, some people are able to really overcome the challenges of old age.
There is a woman who was 90 last June and who is able to walk unassisted and is really nice to see. The interesting thing is that she is a tall person and usually tall people have a challenge in mobility in old age but this woman’s case is different. She is not bent over and walks in a normal manner.
This is indeed a blessing from God. There was a man on TV who was being interviewed some months ago at a keep fit club and he said that he was 92. Asked about what his secret was for being strong and healthy, he said that it was due to regular exercise.
Being aware of some of the challenges we shall face as we grow old helps in overcoming the frustrations and challenges that we are likely to encounter when we grow old. When this happens we shall see old age as a blessing not a curse.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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