THE “Arbitah” in Jeddah are a great example of charity and humanitarian work. Despite the social assistance provided by the state to the poor and needy, the efforts of social institutions in cooperation with the authorities, especially health and charity bodies, have contributed to increasing and improving the services provided to the elderly among them who do not have any close relatives to rely on. However, there is still a dire need for establishing social and recreational clubs through which elderly people can lead normal lives, assimilate into society and meet and socialize with their peers, Al-Riyadh daily reported. A reporter from the Arabic daily was present in the Arbitah homes in Jeddah and he witnessed, first hand, the services provided to residents and their wishes for improving services in partnership with other institutions of society. The chairman of the Social Services Department in Public Health and supervisor of the Health and Social Followup for residents of Arbitah in Jeddah governorate, Muhammad Abdulrahman Al-Gazli, said: “The health and social monitoring program for residents of charitable Arbitah in the governorate has been activated by the Social Service Department in two stages. The first is visiting the charitable Arbitah by health teams of various backgrounds such as doctors, nurses, health supervisors, social workers and health experts.” He further said: “The members of these teams are staff of the Directorate of Health Affairs in Jeddah. They have formed nine teams. The field visits started last year to carry out periodic health monitoring for the residents of the Arbitah in Jeddah, aside from fulfilling their medical and social needs in cooperation with the related authorities. More than 1,055 apartments were visited. Each apartment accommodates a maximum of five people.” Earlier social coordination was carried out and meetings were held with different charitable societies and institutions participating in providing care. The only society that showed cooperation in this field was Zamzam Society for Health and Voluntary Services. Field visits began on Nov. 4, 2013, with the aim of periodic health followups for the residents of Arbitah and providing them with medical and livelihood needs. Al-Gazli further said: “There are five psychological changes that affect old people. They include deterioration of learning capabilities, changes in personality and lifestyle, sleep, development and adaptation. To make an elderly person's life happy, we should look at several factors including physical capabilities, social circumstances and lifestyle, aside from personal requirements, talents and inclinations.” He said elderly people who do not have any interest in socializing with others, lack activity and speech or have sleep or food disorders without a convincing reason are suffering from some form of depression. In such cases, the elderly respond to medication effectively. Al-Gazli stressed that families must do everything possible to maintain a healthy relationship with elder members. “Some family members might harbor negative feelings against an elderly member if he or she is mentally or physically disabled. The matter might reach negligence or they may simply send him or her to a nursing home. Families also need some assistance and support so they can exert more efforts to provide the necessary care,” he added. Director General of Social Affairs in the Makkah region Abdullah Al-Tawi said the Ministry of Social Affairs worked for a whole year in organizing field visits to check on the residents of Arbitah and providing them with assistance, especially Saudi nationals and people with special needs. “All means of comfort are provided to people in this category. There is full coordination with the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) and other authorities in this connection,” he said. Spokesman and Assistant Director General of Zamzam Society for Voluntary Health Services in the Makkah region, Fahd Muhammad Al-Zahrani, said society is participating in the second stage of the health followup program for residents of Arbitah. It is being organized by the Directorate of Health Affairs in Jeddah in line with the directives of Jeddah Governo Prince Mishal Bin Majed.
