specific needs of children and elderly left behind as a ... - IOM Moldova

The health of family members The involved perception in the of migration labour migration process
hol instead of food. This is confirmed during an interview with a lady
aged 76, when she was asked about the need to offer support to the
elderly: “Of course they have to help them! With food, with anything but
not with money! No need to give them money... maybe firewood, or coal…
food, anything but not money because a lot of them spend it on alcohol”
(III_E_13).
Based on the results of the focus groups, the experts also have confirmed
that supplying the elderly with food is more recommended than providing
money for food. The reason for this preference is supported by the
fact that many elderly have gone through difficult economic and political
periods and they tend to save money instead of buying food for themselves.
They save it for a rainy day. One of the participants of the discussion
was abroad for work for a certain period of time and tells us the story she
experienced with her mother: “She continued eating the way she did before...
We assumed that she would save the money so we sent her food. And now,
whether she wanted it or not she had to use it. My husband was giving her
food instead of money” (FG_ EE_urban_rural).
The interviewed elderly acknowledge that the food they receive from various
sources is of great help: from the church, the City Hall, etc. A lady aged
62 who takes care of her two grandchildren, is facing financial difficulties,
and has a poor health condition, says: “ Once a month we receive various
parcels with oats, oil from an evangelist church... and we live somehow”
(III_E_12).
It has been mentioned by the elderly who live in shelters that the diet
level has increased. The elderly tell us: “Of course we eat better! Three times
per day! At home we ate twice per day... Sometimes only once a day if there
was no time and there was a lot of work” (FG_E_4_rural_asylum). Besides
the fact that food is provided regularly under the supervision of specialists,
the elderly can “sit with someone at the table”, which is no less important
for the appetite.
Being in the shelter, the elderly are served food, which is very important,
especially for those with reduced mobility, that can hardly help themselves,
or for those suffering from depression and cases when they don’t feel motivated
to eat. The provision of freshly cooked meals, hot and regular food
significantly increases the quality of the elderly life and reduces the risk of
developing many diseases, including the avoidance of hunger and malnutrition.
The data collected during the study allows us to conclude that:
• the failure to have a good diet and self-neglect, the loss of appetite, motivated
by loneliness, depression and sadness, somatic sufferings and lack
of money–are the causes that induce the risk of developing hunger and
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