Despite preconceptions of being a young continent, over the next decade Africa will experience the fastest growth of people over the age of 60 in the world. This is a good thing – longevity is one of the greatest achievements of humanity. Nonetheless, population ageing requires significant preparations and societal transformations to effectively maximise the opportunities that longer lives bring.
Africa, like much of the rest of the world, is not yet ready to fully enjoy the benefits of later life. However, there are already leaders like Kenneth Edmund Mugayehwenkyi in Uganda who are already at the forefront of advocating for older people’s needs and rights in Africa.
Kenneth Edmund Mugayehwenkyi is the Founder and Executive Director of Reach One Touch One Ministries (ROTOM) and has been working to improve the lives of older people in the Eastern Africa region for more than 20 years. His journey began in 2003 when he decided to leave his job as a social worker in the United States to return to Uganda to start an organisation that prioritises the health and wellbeing of older people – ROTOM. Since then, ROTOM has grown to serve over 2000 older people and 500 dependent grandchildren in Eastern Africa, offering a holistic approach to senior care, catering to the physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs of older persons.
Under Kenneth Edmund Mugayehwenkyi’s leadership, ROTOM has been working to overturn the ageist preconception that older people have ‘lived their time’ and should not be prioritised for care. For example, through ROTOM Kenneth Edmund Mugayehwenkyi worked to establish the first geriatric health care facility in Uganda and set up community-based Village Outreach Centers to provide home-based care and long-term residential care for older persons who need it. ROTOM Health Care centres are now highly recognized as centres of geriatric care in Africa.