Growing older is often treated as something to fear, yet reaching old age is a privilege. It means having lived through different stages of life, gathered experience and reached a point many people do not get to see. The Grandma’s Club in Rwanda, which I founded in 2020 to empower and support older women through fitness and social connection, joins the world in marking the International Day of Older Persons on October 1. For us, it is a moment to reflect not only on how far we have come, but also on the value older people continue to bring to families and communities. Age may change our bodies, our pace and some of the things we are able to do, but it should never be mistaken for a loss of worth. As I celebrate another year as an older person, I think about the journey from infancy to adolescence, young adulthood, adulthood and now this stage of life. Every stage has brought its own joys, struggles and lessons. I have known heights and depths, and I am still here to tell the story. That alone is worth celebrating. Time often reveals itself through the people around us. I sometimes meet a child I last saw as a baby, now running around or kicking a ball, and ask in amazement, “Is that really the baby I last saw in your arms?” Then I remember that someone may be looking at me with the same surprise. They may wonder what happened to the auntie who could outrun them, the woman who danced until the band stopped and now prefers bed by 9pm, or the person who once managed several tasks at once and now needs regular breaks. Yes, things change. But change does not mean that a person has become less important. As we celebrate older persons, we should remember that they can still contribute in many ways. Their contribution may no longer look the same as it did 20 or 30 years ago, but it can still be meaningful. Include older people in discussions. Let them speak. Listen to them. Encourage them. Be patient when they forget, repeat themselves or struggle with tasks that were once easy. Think about how you would want to be treated when a stiff back makes it difficult to tie your shoes, when you need more time to walk across a room, or when your memory fails and you tell the same story again. Age should never become a reason to make someone feel invisible. Although the body may slow down, the mind can still hold decades of knowledge, judgment, experience and memory. Older people carry stories about families, communities, workplaces and institutions that younger generations may never find in books. When older people are isolated or treated as though they have nothing left to offer, we risk robbing them of confidence and purpose. We also rob ourselves of the wisdom they carry. To my fellow older persons, this stage of life can also come with baggage, both good and bad. We have a choice about what we continue to carry. I think of travelling and the heavy luggage I used to bring home. Sometimes I packed things simply because there was space. Then, at the airport, I would discover that my bags were overweight. Some items were not worth paying extra for, so they had to be left behind. Life can be like that. What burdens are we still carrying? What disappointments, regrets or old conflicts have become unnecessary weight? And what experiences, memories and lessons are worth carrying forward? Many older people have raised children, built families and worked in homes, factories, businesses, government offices and many other places. They have given years of themselves to society. They deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labour, but they should not be made to feel that their useful years are over. When older people are respected and their role acknowledged, it becomes easier to pass knowledge and experience to younger generations. When they are dismissed as irrelevant, society loses valuable memory and perspective. As we mark the International Day of Older Persons, let us celebrate ageing with gratitude while challenging the idea that a person’s value declines with age. We may move more slowly. We may need more rest. We may need help with things we once did easily. But we still have knowledge to share, stories to tell, encouragement to give and roles to play. Growing older does not mean becoming less valuable. It simply means that our contribution may take a different form.
