Zimbabwe Older Persons Organisation PVO01/2010
The Zimbabwe Older Persons Organisation is a member of the National Age Network of Zimbabwe. It is a membership based organisation with a mandate to represent the interests of all older persons in the country. The mandate of the organisation is to:-
• To foster and encourage the spirit of solidarity among older persons
• To identify the elderly in n
eed and provide support for their well being
• To provide shelter and Home Based Care to destitute elderly persons in need
The organisation is currently setting up Older Persons Committees throughout the country. Older Persons Committees, widely known as OPCs, are a platform for coordinating and advocating for older persons in the community. They work closely with community leaders and groups or committees who represent various community groups. The organisation also builds the capacity of the same committees to conduct citizen monitoring. Under this, older persons are expected to monitor services that affect them and gather evidence that they can use to bring about change. The organisation also organises bi-monthly meetings for its members in an effort to address their concerns as well as feedback on what the organisation is doing. This is also a platform for learning and sharing as different organisations and of people of various skills is brought to share with older persons. Recently, the organisation has been influential in training of Community Health Workers with a focus on palliative care and enhancing their understanding of the ageing process. Activities
• Advocating on older persons access to health and influencing policy
• Educate older persons on their rights and responsibilities
• Setting up and capacity building of older persons committees
• Training in older citizen monitoring (OCM)
• Registration of older persons and maintaining a database of all older persons in the country
For more information on the organisation, contact Conrad Gweru on [email protected] /+263777445490
