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Elderly
prove they still have what it takes
By Onnucha Hutasingh
Bankgok Post, April 07, 2003 |
Elderly
people in Krabi have shown that age is no bar to business ability by first
accepting a challenge and then investing in an oil palm plantation which
now makes a profit.
The Community Development Institute gave the group one million baht in
2001 and asked them to come up with ideas on how to spend it.
The rule was: don't waste the money, make a profit and make sure members
of the group get financial benefits.
These were elderly people, but they refused to let age stand in their way.
Winij Chaiboon, 76, former chairman of the Krabi Network of the Elderly,
said members agreed to use the money to buy a 20-rai oil palm plantation
in tambon Huay Nam Khao, Klong Thom district. They felt land would keep
its value and the soil would keep its strength.
The plantation made them feel worthwhile again. It kept them busy all-year
long. Life was no longer empty.
Their days were now full, nurturing the palm trees, marketing products and
managing the farm and the money, he said.
They made 20,000 baht profit in the first year, 30% of which went to
maintenance of the plantation and 30% in a welfare fund for the elderly.
Another 20% was put aside toward buying another plantation while the
remainder was for management expenses, Mr Winij said.
The network was now giving 200 poor, elderly people in Krabi 400 baht a
month each. The plantation was not just a workplace but a ``second home''
for young and old.
Mr Winij said many elderly people had their children take them to the
plantation, where they met others of different ages and exchanged
knowledge and experiences.
``We don't have a generation gap here,'' he said.
Ibrohem Wangsob, 33, a village headman, said he was pleased the elderly
there were now happy.
He went with his father to every meeting, where enthusiasm filled the air.
``They are full of energy and eager to share their ideas with others. They
are all smiles when they get to tell others what they think,'' he said.
Wiset Hemmabut, 34, a member of Huay Nam Khao tambon administration
organisation, said these elderly people had changed his belief that old
dogs could not be taught new tricks.
``I admit that they have a lot of potential. They can do a lot of things
themselves and they are quick to learn,'' Mr Wiset said. ``They do not
wait for us to hand them money. They make money themselves.''
He valued their thoughts and experience and was relieved that when he aged
he would now not have to spend the last years of his life in loneliness
and despair.
``They have made a path for me. Now I know I will be happy like them when
I am old,'' he said.
The group had plans to buy more palm plantations, set up a welfare fund
for old people, a home for the homeless and promote herb planting. They
were proud of themselves and the only thing that would stop them working
was their age, eventually, but they could accept death more readily now.
``We are old, yet we can still serve our motherland,'' Mr Winij said.
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