Our aging population needs our care and support so that they can contribute to the community’s quality of life.
I read this sad story on social media, and it made me more determined to follow my dream of building a shelter for underprivileged elders who have no assistance from their children or any government support.
This is the gist of the story that highlights the plight of millions of our elders.
“Today is my 89th birthday, and I am sitting in the nursing home with a plate of meatballs in front of me. I don’t know who made these for me or who is wishing me a happy birthday today. I have three kids but haven’t seen them in a long time. They brought me here and told me it was for my own benefit, but time flies, and the phone doesn’t ring. I just want a hug, one word, one “Happy birthday, Daddy.”
The world’s aging population is increasing every year, thanks to the miracles of modern medicine and technology. People live longer and wish for a fulfilling life and to be part of the community’s everyday life.
Due to financial factors, the prevailing practice in the West is to provide service on a large scale by having our elders and caring for them in big complexes. In some underdeveloped countries, elders are not so lucky. They are left at the mercy of their children, who in most cases have no time for them, or financial and other priorities of their lives do not allow them to take care of their parents and, in many cases, the elders have been left to themselves without help from government agencies or any other organization. I have always thought that the homelessness of elders exists in underdeveloped countries, but I have witnessed them on the streets of Canada begging or living in extreme poverty.
That made me dream of buildingNazz Rest Homein India. This idea is based on the writings of the Baha’i Faith to cover all aspects of our elders’ physical, spiritual, emotional and intellectual needs, who spent their lives making the world a better place for the next generations.
Our generation must reflect on their needs and develop a holistic approach to caring for our elders. We should allow them to be productive by imparting their knowledge, wisdom, and the long-lasting lessons they have learned.
There are many experiments and new methods of providing service, and Nazz Rest Home focuses on older people who are poor and disadvantaged. But these innovations will not change the minds and hearts of the world. We need to re-examine the needs of these precious souls who may be weak in body but are treasuries of wise advice required for the young generation to get started on the right path to maturity.
Our aging population needs our care and support to contribute to the community’s quality of life. Sadly, the spiritual and emotional needs of the elderly have been ignored and forgotten in the process of planning for them. Our elders have been, in most cases, separated from society to care for their physical needs efficiently, and their spiritual and human needs have been overlooked. The body’s condition or age should not distract us from nurturing the soul, no matter how old we are.
Let us dream of a future where, in every community, the elderly, based on the goal of full integration, can be involved in activities with people of all ages, such as arts, gardening, and various community events. They can be involved in planning activities and a source of guidance to impart their life experiences to younger generations. We can imagine each elder spiritually adopted by a family who takes care of them and includes them as members of their families.
Badi Shamsis a Baha’i and a mystic at heart and has an MA in economics.He has published “Economics of the Future” and “Economics of the Future Begins Today” and recently written the books “Random Thoughts of a Mystic Economist” and “Towards a New Spiritual Economic System.” You can find Badi’s website atbadishams.com called “Baha’i Inspired Economics” He is retired from the education system.
You can read more articles on our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking, athttps://www.timescolonist.com/blogs/spiritually-speaking
* This article was published in the print edition of the Times Colonist on Saturday, July 5th 2025