A call for Grandparents Day

THE EDITOR: July has been recognised as the month of seniors. The UN previously declared 1999 the Year of the Elderly.

In a bid to duly observe the delegated name, and while I was still serving actively as principal, I got Grant Memorial Presbyterian School to promote a one-off Grandparents Day.

At a subsequent evaluation, influenced by the tremendous impact of that one-off day, we decided to add it to the school's calendar of events as an annual programme.

We noted the tremendous contribution of grandparents in dropping and picking up their grands, accompanying them at sports day events, concerts, providing security to the children, inter alia, and allowing parents to go to work confident of the safety of their children.

We concluded that grandparents are important stakeholders in the education system. The following year, I asked then minister Manohar Ramsaran to agitate for the government's declaring a Grandparents Day. That went into cold storage.

As recently as 2021, Pope Francis issued a similar call. He declared, "We should neither deprive them (the elderly) of our presence, nor ourselves of their wisdom."

In renewing this lobby today, and with the blessings of the Patriotic Organisation of Trinbago, of which I am a co-ordinator, I have had interest shown by the Archbishop of Port of Spain, who instructed the archdiocese and departments of the church to seek to observe such a day. The IRO, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church and others have also been approached for support.

Three UN representatives have also met with me and expressed interest with necessary follow-ups as needed.

The Patriotic Organisation considers this an opportunity to duly recognise the efforts and service given by the elderly, giving them national status annually.

We do not see the need for large-scale shopping or the like, and are confident that as an innovative people, we will find ways and means to celebrate this important yet undervalued section of our society.

Indeed, we have Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May and Father's Day on the third Sunday in June, thus paving the way for the fourth Sunday in July as Grandparent's Day.

The organisation urges not only places of worship but also village councils and community development groups, trade unions, business chambers, DOMA and other NGOs to come on board and support our call.

Let us not as a nation not lose this opportunity to recognise and honour the selfless contributions of our elderly folk as see them as a most valuable and relevant asset to nation-building.

We look forward with enthusiasm as we embark on this initiative that would see us become among the first countries to formally and annually show national appreciation for our grandparents, great-grandparents and the elderly in general.

LENNOX SIRJUESINGH

San Fernando