Questions we may ask ourselves as we age might include: who’s going to care for us? How will we afford that care? Will we become a burden for our loved ones? Should we spare them and explore retirement home options? None of these questions are easy. They’re especially difficult in societies where people tend to feel more alienated. But in some cultures, where family ties are strong, the dynamics of care may be clearer even despite the challenges in aging.

Dependency in Costa Rica

We all have an elderly relative, friend or neighbor who requires additional support. Sometimes, we may even have to decide whether sending them to a retirement home is the right thing to do. But we know little about conditions in these places. Oftentimes, the institutionalized end up being invisible and vulnerable.

We often tend to remember and pride ourselves on our great gender mainstreaming victories and forget our losses or missed opportunities, understandably. Despite great progress throughout the Latin American and Caribbean region, thousands of development projects ranging from agriculture to science and technology are prepared every year by public, private, nonprofit and multilateral entities with NO gender considerations; not to mention the intersectionality of gender and disability, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation.

Every year on December 3, we celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, raising awareness in the hopes of breaking down barriers and prejudices that prevent social inclusion. Among people with disabilities, children are especially vulnerable as undetected disabilities in early years and delays in rehabilitative initiatives lead to delays in development.

Nilda Villacres, an expert in public health in Ecuador, is also a single mother of a 30-year-old son who was born with cerebral palsy. Despite the difficulties, she feels fortunate to work in a profession that helps her cover the costs of the people who accompany her son during a good part of the working day.