Connecting communities to care for the elderly.

A distinctive feature of the Intergenerational Self-Help Club model implemented by the Vietnam Association of the Elderly is that it brings together people of all ages, including philanthropists and poor, near-poor, and disadvantaged families.

Elderly people in Dinh Quan district receive gifts from the Elderly Care Program, organized jointly by several organizations. Photo: S. Thao

This contributes to the effective care, promotion, and protection of the legitimate rights and interests of the elderly.

Many forms of care for the elderly.

The model of the Senior Citizens' Club has been implemented by the Association of Elderly People since 2016. To date, the model has been implemented in two phases: a pilot program from 2016-2019 and nationwide implementation from 2020-2025. Currently, nearly 9,000 Senior Citizens' Clubs have been established nationwide, with a total membership of nearly 500,000 people.

In Dong Nai province, while only 91 Elderly Support Clubs were established during the 2016-2019 period, there are now 205 active clubs with over 11,000 members. Of these, more than 7,700 are elderly members and over 3,300 are other groups.

Today, May 22nd, in Bien Hoa City, the Provincial Association of Elderly People held a conference to implement the Project on Expanding the Model of Elderly People's Clubs until 2025. The program included evaluating the results of the implementation of the Elderly People's Club model until 2025; sharing experiences in implementing the model in each hamlet and commune; and awarding 50 individuals and groups with outstanding achievements in implementing the Elderly People's Club model.

Currently, the activities of each Club for Mutual Assistance and Support for the Elderly are very diverse, linked to many contents, including: ensuring livelihoods, healthcare, self-help and community support, ensuring rights and interests, raising awareness and knowledge, culture - arts - visiting and socializing, mobilizing resources, etc.

Over the past period, the Elderly Care Club of Phuoc Thien commune (Nhon Trach district) has been one of the province's exemplary models in implementing the task of mobilizing people to join hands in caring for the elderly.

According to Le Tien Due, head of the Traditional Arts Club of Phuoc Thien commune, the club was established four years ago and currently has nearly 100 members. Based on the core principles of the Traditional Arts Club model, the club's management board has formed a performing arts team and meets monthly for practice. When the locality organizes conferences or celebrations at the commune or hamlet level, the club's management board proactively contacts members to arrange performances. This allows members to practice and showcase their hard work.

In particular, to proactively build a fund to help members improve their lives, each member contributes 50,000 VND/month to the club's common fund. This fund is collected and then used to provide loans of 5-10 million VND/person to members in difficult circumstances to open beverage stalls at home, sell breakfast food, etc. In addition, many well-off members also help farmer members with seedlings, fertilizers, and agricultural product sales. As a result, members who borrow capital all repay their loans, creating a stable income for themselves, although not large.

The Elderly Health Care Club also implements solutions tailored to the specific circumstances of each unit in caring for the elderly. One of the highlights of this type of club is that currently, 728 elderly people receive regular home health care from over 2,000 club members through check-ups, health improvement consultations, physical therapy exercises, etc.

For example, at the Elderly Health Club No. 1 in Gia Tan 3 commune (Thong Nhat district), there are 50 members, with more than half being elderly people. Over the years, members have contributed to purchasing blood pressure monitors and wheelchairs for elderly members in difficult circumstances. In addition, younger members are responsible for providing healthcare to nearly 10 elderly people at home on a weekly and monthly basis.

Linking quantity with quality

Dong Nai is one of the leading localities nationwide in terms of the rapid development of the number of Traditional Medicine and Sports Clubs for the Elderly. Each year, between 19 and 34 new Traditional Medicine and Sports Clubs for the Elderly are established.

Elderly people in Thong Nhat district receive free medical check-ups, health consultations, and medication. Photo: S. Thao

Alongside increasing the number of clubs, according to the Chairwoman of the Provincial Association of Elderly People, Nguyen Thi Kim Lien, strengthening the activities of these clubs is crucial to attracting people to participate in club activities in the future. Currently, only 61 clubs are rated A, while 102 clubs are rated B, 35 are rated C, and 7 are rated D.

Furthermore, although the total fundraising value of the Traditional Vietnamese Medicine Clubs reached over 21 billion VND, there is a significant disparity in fundraising amounts among the clubs. Currently, only 53 clubs have raised 50 million VND or more; 2 clubs have only 5 million VND in funds. A very large number of clubs have funds ranging from 5 to 49 million VND.

Furthermore, the activities of the Youth Learning Clubs are not organized regularly. Only 25 clubs hold monthly meetings; the remaining clubs meet only once every 2-6 months, which is not truly appropriate or practical.

Based on this reality, in the coming time, the Elderly Associations at all levels and the steering committees of each Elderly Club will focus on strengthening training for the steering committees and members of the clubs. They will leverage the strengths and overcome the weaknesses of each club in managing and organizing activities. The club steering committees need to proactively coordinate with local departments, agencies, and organizations to spread activities and create depth within the community. Club members should actively participate in activities and contribute positively to the club's overall operations. At the same time, the Provincial Elderly Association hopes that relevant units will continue to cooperate and create conditions for the clubs to strengthen their steering committees, helping the clubs effectively achieve their set goals.

To ensure the activities of the Club for the Promotion of Learning and Development spread widely, each club needs to expand its scope of activities and connect with other clubs and social organizations to proactively choose and organize activities that suit the actual situation of its members and locality.

Thao River

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202505/ket-noi-cong-dong-cung-cham-care-nguoi-cao-tuoi-4643a1f/