Untitled

Abstract

This article deals with ideas and practices of care of elderly people in a rural Kwahu community of Ghana. It is part of a larger project on social and cultural meanings of growing old. Four questions are addressed: What kind of care do old people receive? Who provides that care? On what basis do people care for the old or do they feel obliged to do so? And finally, what are the changes taking place in the field of care for old people? Concepts of respect and reciprocity take a central position in accounts of care and lack of care. The article is based on anthropological fieldwork, mainly conversations with 35 elderly people and observations in their daily lives.

Immigrants and Long-distance Elder Care: An Exploratory Study

“…The description by our participants of elder caregiving in Akan society pointed to gender-specific roles: women (sometimes with the assistance of young children) doing most of the house chores and the actual hand-on care, and men providing financial support as alluded to by Van der Geest (2002). Obviously, physical distance did not permit caregiving, particularly hands-on care activities, on a regular basis.…”

“…Van der Geest (2002) has described the relationships around the Akan family as ambiguous citing members' "confusing" allegiance to their lineage (abusua) and their conjugal family. It has been noted that an increasing number of Akans, particularly western educated, urban dwellers and many Christians, give more preference to their conjugal family over the extended family (Fortes 1971;Oppong 1974).…”

“…Whoever happens to be available and capable of performing a needed task performs it. Nonetheless, Van der Geest (2002) noted that hands-on care activities such as cooking, bathing, and cleaning are "designated" as women duties while men are required to provide money, visit the older adults, and organize their funerals. He provided some glimpses of the "order" of caregivers for a frail older adult in Kwahu-Akan society:…”

“…Although research on the reasons for remitting and keeping contact by Ghanaian immigrants in western countries is limited, most studies suggest that remittances are sent for purposes such as business investment, providing socio-cultural and economic support, serving the self-interest of immigrants in enjoying high status in their family and in society, providing emotional support in times of death or sickness, maintaining family bonds, and taking part in important family discussions around birth, marriage and funerals (Arhinful 2001;De Witte 2001;Kabki et al 2004;Mazzucato et al (n.d.); Orozco et al 2005;Tiemoko 2004; Van der Geest 2002).…”

“…In his study among the KwahuAkans, Van der Geest (2002) observed that some of his participants who were caregivers criticized their siblings who had migrated for not keeping their promise to help them take care for their elderly relatives back home through remittance. Some of the reasons for elder neglect in Ghanaian society was summarized by Aboderin (2004) as follows: "[older adults who are neglected are] typically older men who had reneged on their parental duties and whose children, in turn, "retaliated" by not supporting them, or they were older women who were accused of witchcraft and consequently were refused support" (p. S131).…”