Irambeshya Albert
Kontakt:
Projekt:
"Social protection of elderly people in the context of rapid aging population in Rwanda"
Projektbeschreibung:
The number of old population in Africa in general and particularly in Rwanda is growing very fast, however this growth is not associated with formal social protection programs for the wellbeing of this category of vulnerable people. In Rwanda, the majority of elderly people are those in informal sector and who are not covered by any social pension scheme. This situation increases their inability of satisfying their basic needs and boosting their daily livelihood.
Furthermore, the intergeneration support to elderly people is being constrained by rural urban migration of young generations, who leave their old parents in rural areas. Moreover, land scarcity coupled with changes in housing patterns make elderly people to lose their influence over their children since they do not have sufficient land to give to them as inheritance. In addition to that, the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi has left some elderly people in loneliness and deprived of any family member’s support.
It is therefore on the basis of these considerations about the livelihood and intergenerational support to elderly people in rural areas of Rwanda that pushed me to conduct a research on social protection of elderly people in Rwanda. With the use of ethnographic methods, this research aims at analyzing the effect of rural urban migration on intergenerational support to elderly people in Western province of Rwanda; assessing the impact of land scarcity and changes in housing patterns on family support to elderly people in Western province of Rwanda; examining the effect of narrow coverage of pension scheme on the livelihoods of elderly people in Western province of Rwanda; and at investigating the impact of the 1994 genocide on the family support to elderly people in Western province of Rwanda. In addition to that, the research will formulate recommendations for a better protection of elderly people in Rwanda.