Horizons magazine is published by Presbyterian Women (PW) the national women’s organization of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Issue link: http://horizons.epubxp.com/i/52581
Susanne Paul (far right) positions Global Action on Aging to be an awareness-building and advocating organization. Interns at GAA—like (left to right) Shiyang Lu (China), Dalia Sayess (Lebanon), Aya Elshakshuki (Libya), Christopher Kwan (China), Michelle Defaz (Ecuador) and Aude Feltz (France)— study and discuss the most vital issues for aging people around the world. ᑂᑈᑐᑄᑃᑈᑀᑁᑅᑑᑇᑐᑉᑀᑐᑉᑀᑁᑆᑇᑉᑆ BY MEAGAN MANAS United Nations. The author of many publications including Humanity Comes of Age: The New Context for Ministry with the Elderly (World Council of Churches, 1994), cowritten with James A. Paul, she writes and speaks widely about challenges to older persons worldwide. She recently sat down to share her insights and experiences with readers of Horizons. S ᑄᑂᑁᑃᑁᑅᑀ How did you get started in this work? ᑆᑇᑆᑁᑅᑅᑂᑀWatching my grandmother. She lived into her late 80s. She had and raised nine children, then took on the children of her brother after her sister-in-law's death. She was the mother of 12 people! And she was a very faithful person in her local church. In her old age, she lived by herself. She had, in the community, many of her own children and their extended families, but her real support were her friends—the people who cared for her and related to her the most. I began to see then, as a teenager, how she supported herself with the friendship of other women. It showed me how friendship, and being close by, was essential for her happiness. Eventually she became [less able] and moved to a retirement community. I could see that aging was an issue, and that friendships were even more important, as well as the local church. Then, when I graduated, I worked on the Medicare bill for my state senator. One of my jobs was to read letters from older people, and see why they said they needed a Medicare bill. This experi- ence made my grandmother's stories resonate much more with me. As well, [I was profoundly affected] by the stories I read from people who were in much more difficult situations. Later in my life, through a job with the United Methodist Church, I received credentials to attend meetings at the United Nations (UN) and work with the Non-Governmental Organization on Aging Com- mittee. I realized how stigmatized the issue [of aging] was, and saw how it was emerging as a topic at the UN. November/December 2011 13 usanne S. Paul is president of Global Action on Aging (GAA), an organization that reports on older people's needs and potential within the global economy. It advocates by, with and for older persons worldwide. Susanne formerly chaired the Non-Governmental Organizations on Aging Committee at the Meagan Manas