Background, Senior Citizen's Garden and Homes (SCGH) Nigeria Ltd.
GLOBALLY:
The world's perception is changing on how individuals spend their days at retirement. The World is moving from “Old Folks Home or Old People’s Home” to a modern phenomenon that supports the wellbeing of the Seniors and their peculiar needs.
NIGERIA SITUATION:
Unfortunately, without much attention, most Senior Citizens in Nigeria upon retirement face challenges that weigh them down physically, mentally and emotionally, this is traceable to lack of adequate care facility & services, isolation, idleness, finance, medical, fitness, etc which makes life so difficult and some being cut short. There is so much advocacy by NGOs and Government bodies in Nigeria, but much is still required.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
The founder’s wife (Co-founder), in the course of her duty as a public officer travelled to Lagos from Abuja in July 2021 for official assignment and decided to stay at the father in-law’s house at the end of each day’s assignment. She returned back to Abuja with a lot of burden and concern for her parents- in-law who are in their mid-seventies and have nothing to do than to wake up, eat, sleep during the day, sleep during the night, few phone calls, little or no place to go. This is the same with her own father at Ibadan at that same time and many other older people around us.
The communal living that gives support to the elderly within their vicinity is fast fading away, with children having left to start the family of their own, neither grand children around to assist like in the past, it is also becoming difficult for most people to bring their old parents to their homes to leave together (apart from short visits).
QUEST FOR AN ANSWER:
This concern made the Co- founder spend days on an online search for a facility around Lagos that could provide support to the in-laws (different from the usual Old People’s Home). At the same time the Founder was carrying out the same research without result; as it is not possible to ask the old man to leave his well-built and nicely furnished private property to the like of what is available.
The founder and his wife got to know that they have been doing the same search after three days and being much concerned about this gap in our society, they decided to take an active step which gave birth to Senior Citizen’s Garden and Homes Nigeria Ltd (S.C.G.H. Nigeria Ltd) on 10th day of November 2021. This is to provide a fully serviced Continuing Care Retirement Community Facility in major cities of Nigeria in line with world best practices.
“NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION”
At Senior Citizen's Garden and Homes Nigeria Ltd., we received with great joy the positive coincidence of the Nigerian Government's inauguration of the NATIONAL SENIOR CITIZENS CENTRE (NSCC) on 7th June 2021 around the same time that we realized our vision for the Senior Citizens in Nigeria. NSCC is the Government body which among other things is set up to "...…..identify the needs of senior citizens and initiate, facilitate and effectively coordinate programs and services to meet the needs, …". It's like a confirmation from God of our presence in Nigeria and at the right time.
