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AARP helps out Indian elderly
ON THE NAVAJO RESERVATION -A dozen goats watched and bleated patiently as two city slickers wrestled wire fences into various configurations. The two
middle-age men were trying to build a horseproof hay storage area for the
goats. "Do you
know how to do this?" Dave Conahey, a retired probation officer,
asked Gary Thomas, a retired purchasing manager.
"I have no idea," Thomas said with a laugh. They were 20
miles south of Four Corners, the northeastern corner of Arizona, in a
dusty desert far from their Phoenix area homes. They were trying to help
an elderly Navajo woman. Thomas' wife,
Jean, and two other women were working nearby, patching holes in the
corral so the goats wouldn't stray. Several hours
later they all stood back and admired their work. "Pot
bellies and bald heads, but they do good work," Jean Thomas said. When the
Arizona chapter of AARP put out the call this spring for
"hearty" senior volunteers to help repair homes on the Navajo
Reservation, more than 100 Valley members responded. A few who
headed to the reservation said they were finally dusting off humanitarian
interests developed in the 1960s. Others said they had re-evaluated things
after Sept. 11 and wanted a more meaningful involvement in life. Although other
AARP groups around the country help inner-city elderly, this is the first
outreach program to Native American reservations, according to Curtis
Cook, associate director of Arizona's AARP. Ongoing program Cook hopes it
will be the beginning of an ongoing program that benefits the helpers and
those they help. A small crew
will do a project in August on the Fort Apache Reservation. A bigger crew
will return to the Navajo Reservation next spring. Most of the 28
volunteers chosen for this first outing had driven through the reservation
before but had never stopped to see reservation life close up. This time
they did, performing roof repairs, window and door replacement and
handyman jobs. They worked despite strong winds, high temperatures and
trips along long, rutted roads to remote hogans of the seniors, many of
whom are widows in their 70s and 80s who live alone, tending sheep. 'Things don't matter' "Helping
the Indians is the primary reason we are here, but it really makes us feel
better ourselves, too," said Judy Turocy, 58, of Ahwatukee.
"Many of us already have it all: new houses and new cars. We have all
the china we need. We have six TVs. We are of a certain age, and all of a
sudden we realize things don't matter. People matter." Lee Milton,
56, who lives in south Phoenix, spent evenings after dinner walking in the
neighborhoods of Chinle, the group's home base, talking to Native American
residents. He talked to many who once lived in Phoenix or Albuquerque but
who had come home to the reservation. "Some
said they were more at home in a town like Chinle where there are no malls
or movie theaters," he said. "Their connection to their
community, and their family and team approach to life, is something I'll
take back home," he said. Milton is a former general contractor now
working on a doctorate in theology from Phoenix Bible College and
Seminary. Milton said he
worried about who might go on the AARP trip, but the people he worked
alongside exceeded his expectations. "They
were flexible without complaining," he said. "They took it in
stride when supplies weren't on work sites. They used their creativity to
scrounge for scrap materials they could use, instead." Almost every
project site had a story like that, said Denny Bayers, 51, a consultant
for the project who's also retired. At one job, he used an old bedpost for
an entryway to a house. Most of the
construction projects were designed to keep out cold and wind from homes
and improve safety. At one hogan, a crew replaced a stovepipe that had
rusted and had already caused two fires in an old man's home. 'He's safe now' "He's
safe now," Cook said. They painted the interior of the home of an
elderly artist who, the volunteers reported, literally jumped up and down
to see the brightly colored rooms. Many of the
elderly Native Americans spoke only Navajo. But language barriers were
often overcome with a language of friendly gestures. Two Navajo
men, Harry Nez and Gerald Ahasteen, worked with the volunteers, doing
repairs and interpreting the language and culture. Ahasteen,
manager of the Low Mountain Senior Center, invited AARP to the
reservation, negotiating with chapter houses to provide many repair
materials. He interpreted
for an elderly woman as she told why she wanted a new roof on her old
family hogan. It was so she could move back into it for her final days.
Even with its dirt floors, she said, it was more comfortable than the
modern-style house she lived in next door with other members of the
family. Demand is great The demand for
hogan repairs is great because many of the older, more traditional Navajo
women, those who wear the velvet calico skirts, colorful blouses, jewelry
and scarves, are growing older. "Many want to go back to their
traditional homes before they die," Ahasteen said. "At
first, looking at their primitive conditions, I wondered how people could
live like this," Jean Thomas said. "On this trip we met many
women in their 60s, 70s and 80s, herding sheep and taking care of goats.
There was much to admire about them. Whatever the day brought, they did
it. "But," she added, "give me my air-conditioning!" FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Action on Aging distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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