OCT 21 – Every year on October 1st, the world marks the International Day of Older Persons. This year’s theme, “Older Persons Driving Local and Global Action: Our Aspirations, Our Well-being and Our Rights”, is a timely reminder that older men and women are not passive dependents but pillars of wisdom, culture, and resilience. Yet, here in Kenya, too many live their final years stripped of one of the most basic human rights: dignity.
Across rural Kenya, thousands of seniors live without access to safe and clean sanitation facilities. What many of us take for granted, a functional toilet or washroom, is for them a daily struggle. Poor sanitation is not just an inconvenience; for older persons, it often means exposure to infections, loss of mobility, social exclusion, and deep shame.
The statistics paint a sobering picture. Kenya has an estimated 2.7 million older persons (aged 60 and above) in 2025. Yet only 65% of households nationally have access to basic sanitation, according to UNICEF and WHO, with rural areas lagging far behind. Worse still, about 7% of Kenyans still practice open defecation, leaving older men and women among the most vulnerable. These numbers are not just data points; they represent our parents, grandparents, and community elders.
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In October, the CPF Foundation shone a spotlight on this silent crisis through its unique initiative, the Swing for Seniors Charity Golf Tournament, held on September 26th, 2025, at the Vetlab Sports Club. The event was not just about golf; it was about rallying individuals, corporations, and institutions to invest in restoring dignity to our seniors through improved health, hygiene, and sanitation.
Why golf? Because sports can reframe narratives and bring unlikely allies together. Golf, often associated with prestige and leisure, provided the perfect stage to bridge worlds, boardrooms and villages, policymakers and communities, donors and doers. Every swing taken on the green became a swing for change, for care, for dignity.
But the challenge before us cannot end with a single tournament. Marking Older Persons Day and dedicating October to seniors must stir the nation to action. Kenya rightly invests in youth empowerment, innovation, and infrastructure, but we must remember that ageing is universal. Neglecting older persons today is simply neglecting the people we ourselves will become tomorrow.
Ensuring that older persons have access to clean and safe sanitation is not charity; it is justice. It is about affirming that dignity does not expire with age. It is about protecting health, extending care, and honouring rights that belong to every Kenyan, no matter their stage of life.
Through the Swing for Seniors initiative, the CPF Foundation aims to raise funds for rural sanitation and hygiene rehabilitation, targeting thousands of older persons in vulnerable communities. The goal is simple yet profound: to restore dignity to seniors and ensure that aging is not synonymous with suffering.
We call upon government agencies, corporate Kenya, the media, and citizens of goodwill to rally behind this cause. Sponsor, volunteer, participate, or simply amplify the message; every contribution counts. Together, we can ensure that seniors live not in indignity and exclusion, but with the care, respect, and support they deserve.
As we end October, let us remember that our elders built the foundations of the communities, opportunities, and freedoms we now enjoy. It is now our turn to build theirs, to guarantee that their golden years are marked not by struggle and shame, but by dignity, hope, and belonging.
Because dignity should never be a luxury.
The writer of the article is the Group Managing Director/CEO at CPF Group.