Dignity Is Not Charity: Reframing Ageing in Kenya as a Rights Issue
As we began 2026, the question before us was no longer whether older persons deserve dignity — but how consistently our systems deliver it.
For too long, ageing in Kenya has been treated as a private family matter, a charitable concern, or an afterthought in development planning. Yet the reality is clear: ageing is a public, social, and policy issue — and how a society treats its elders reveals the strength of its values and institutions.
At Ethel Foundation for the Aged (EFA), our work in 2025 reaffirmed a simple but powerful truth:
Dignity in old age is not charity. It is a right.
What 2025 Taught Us
Across the past year, EFA worked with older persons facing neglect, poverty, health challenges, and social isolation. We saw resilience, wisdom, and contribution — but we also saw the cost of weak systems.
Our 2025 work focused on three interconnected pillars:
1. Protection and Safeguarding
Older persons remain vulnerable to abuse, neglect, land dispossession, and abandonment. Through case identification, referrals, and community engagement, EFA strengthened protection responses that place safety, consent, and dignity at the centre.
2. Livelihoods and Economic Dignity
Ageing does not erase the desire — or the right — to contribute. Our livelihoods initiatives supported older persons to engage in income-generating activities, reducing dependency while restoring purpose and agency.
3. Psychosocial Support and Community Care
Loneliness is one of the most silent threats facing older persons. Through home visits, counselling, group engagement, and intergenerational connections, we prioritised mental well-being as essential to healthy ageing.
These were not isolated interventions. They were systemic responses — rooted in social work practice, community structures, and partnerships.
The Deeper Issue: Systems, Not Sympathy
What 2025 made clear is this:
individual goodwill cannot substitute functional systems.
Dignified ageing requires:
- Strong community-based care models
- Trained social service providers
- Clear referral pathways
- Policy implementation at county and national levels
- Sustainable livelihoods beyond emergency support
Charity can relieve pain.
Systems prevent it.
Our 2026 Direction: From Support to Structure
In 2026, EFA is deepening its shift from intervention to institution-building.
Our focus is on:
- Strengthening rights-based advocacy for older persons
- Embedding ageing within social protection and public welfare systems
- Scaling community models that can be adopted by counties and partners
- Building evidence and narratives that influence policy and funding decisions
We are committed to working with government, civil society, donors, and communities to ensure ageing is planned for — not reacted to.
A Shared Responsibility
Ageing is not a marginal issue.
It is a future every one of us is moving toward.
The question is not whether we will age — but whether we are building a society that allows us to age with dignity, security, and belonging.
As we step into 2026, Ethel Foundation for the Aged recommits to one guiding principle:
Older persons are not a burden to manage, but citizens to honour.
And dignity — always — is a right.
