Dorothy Amarille
Ang tingin sa iba sa matatanda na pag tumanda na
you're not supposed to be seen and to be heard.
Ipinaalam ko sa matatanda na we are still
existing. We value our yung sarili natin.
Blithe Amarille
Pagpapahalaga sa sarili, pagkakaibigan at samahan
o camaraderie. ang hatid ng patuloy na pakikilahok
ng 77 taong gulang at dating guro mula Northern
Samar na si Dorothy Amarille na ngayon ay
naninirahan sa Sydney sa buwan ng pagsasama-sama
ng mga miyembro ng Philippine Australian Senior
Social Club o PASSOC Kwento niya, nagbibigay ito
ng kakaibang lakas at kasiyahan habang siya ay
Dorothy Amarille
Nakakatulong yun sa stamina mo. Iyong lalabas ka
at pakikipag-ugnayan ka sa kasing edad mo. Iyon sa
mga group na... Kasi hindi mo naman maku-cope yung
activities ng mga bata. Nakaku-cope ka sa
activities ng kasing parihan mong edad. I want
also to go out. Ayaw ko yung nasa bahay ako. It's
just because that I'm already old na pang bahay na
lang talaga. So, naisusuot ko naman yung mga damit
ko. Nakapag-make-up, make-up naman ng kaunti.
Inaisusuot yung mga bling-bling na hindi mo
naisusuot. But most and foremost, gusto ko yung
friendship at camaraderie rin ng mga seniors. Isa
lang si Dorothy sa higit limampung miyembro ng
Blithe Amarille
Taong 1990s, dumating ito sa Australia kasama ang
asawang beterinaryo at limang anak. Pag-amin pa
nito, kahit mahirap ang trabaho dahil maganda ang
pananaw sa buhay at mahilig mag-socialize o gumala
sa simpleng paraan, kaya madali lang umano itong
nakapag-adjust sa buhay abroad. Pero, kwento niya,
marami ang tulad niyang may edad na nalulungkot at
Dorothy Amarille
Iyong napapag-isa na sila, kapag wala na yung
husband, yun ang nangyayari. Lonely na sila, tapos
yung mga anak nila may pamilya naman.
Blithe Amarille
Ayon kay Cathy Kezelman presidente ng Blue Knot
Foundation. Ito'y isang organisasyon na tumutulong
sa mga nakaranas ng trauma. Mga grupong mahina o
mas vulnerable sa matinding kalungkutan tulad ng
mga matatanda. Dagdag pa nito, kung lalala ang
karanasang ito, magdudulot ito sa tao na lumayo at
Dr. Cathy Kezelman
I think what happens when loneliness is profound
is that it can obviously really impact our mental
health. Obviously, we can go into a spiral just
with our own thoughts and ruminate. And that can
be very, very unhealthy. And obviously, the more
you withdraw, the less other input you're getting.
And of course, mental health can impact physical
Blithe Amarille
Nitong ikalawang linggo ng Agosto, ginunita ang
Loneliness Awareness Week at nitong taong 2025.
Tema ang Moments Matter kung saan binigyang diin
ng mga eksperto ang kahalagahan ng koneksyon sa
tahanan, trabaho, paaralan, online at sa
komunidad. Kaya hinikayat nito na ang pagkakaroon
ng mas maraming bukas at abot kayang espasyo sa
komunidad para makabuo at mapanatili ang relasyon.
Tugma ito sa misyon ng Philippine-Australian
Senior Social Club. o PASSOC sa Sydney. Ang grupo
ay nabuo mula pa noong 1994. Ayon sa volunteer,
public relations officer, at anak ni Dorothy na si
Blithe Bukas ang kanilang grupo, hindi lang sa mga
senior citizen. Pati nilang 18 taong gulang pataas
bilang mga senior allies.
Blither Amarille
It's to have like a cohesive relations among
Filipino seniors para maging like a strong
relationship between senior Filipinos. And then
meron silang, ano, once a month gathering. Well,
it is a social club. So they go different places
or they go Maryland's RSL. Parang just to protect
our Filipino seniors and just for fun, like, you
know, to get out and have fun and associate with
other seniors. So they have their own voice as
well. Meron din kaming mga ano yung Yung
pinapapunta sila sa workshop o something. Like
this August meron silang pupuntahan na workshop
about online security. Kasi marami na kasing
na-scam. Limited yung nila sa internet.
Blithe Amarille
At sa karanasan ni Dorothy at kasamang higit
sinkwenta na senior citizens, hatid nito ang saya
Dorothy Amarille
It is something that will make you feel good at
saka parang nabavalue mo yung sarili mo. In spite
of the fact that you're getting old, para bang may
gamit ka pa sa society, yun ang napi-feel ko,
binavalue ko yung sarili ko. At least, I will not
be a burden. Ibig kong sabihin, at saka we're also
part of the community. At saka ang gusto ko na
makita ng mga younger generation na kahit ka
tumatanda, may gamit ka pa. sa sosyedad. Prove
yourself to make yourself worthy sa society.
Blithe Amarille
Dahil sa positibong dulot sa senior citizens.
Bilang volunteer, sabi ni Blithe, kada buwan
pinag-iigihan niya ang bawat kaganapan na
ikinakasa para sa kanila.
Blither Amarille
I actually do write programs for them. Say this
month they go on a bus trip or they go on like you
know just a day trip or do like dancing, karaoke
singing, arts and crafts, ganyan. Some of them
don't want to go home after that. They just want
to stay. Ask them what songs they like. So they go
back in time and then they kind of reminisce the
days when they're in Philippines. And then parang
naiiyak yung iba. Tapos nagsasayawan, ganyan. They
kind of dance to it. And then they kind of say,
oh, this was when, you know, I was this age. We
used to sing this. We used to dance with this, you
know. Tapos minsan naalala nila yung, kasi some of
them would be like in their 80s. Naalala nila yung
ano nila. Someone of them would have lost like a
significant other. And then they'd say, Oh, I
remember this song. That's his favorite. That's
her favorite. Some of them would refuse to listen
to it and they would just cry. So it's something
very touching siya. Tapos they love to dress up.
And they say, oh, this once a month occasion, this
gathering, they won't let it pass because they
said that's the only time we dress up, we put on
our Sunday best, our makeup, we get our nails
done, things like that. Wow, that's so good. And
they get to see their friends.
Blithe Amarille
Malayo pa sa pagiging senior citizen si Blythe,
pero ngayon pa lang buo na ang kanyang loob na
hikayatin ang bawat miyembro ng pamilya, nabigyan
ng halaga silang mga mahal sa buhay na
nangungulila. Dahil karapat dapat silang mahalin
ng kanilang pamilya, handa rin silang samahan ng
kanilang grupo upang maging mas makabuluhan ang
Blithe Amarille
Maybe some days they're lonely and some days
they're just relieved because they've done, parang
na-fulfill na nila yung life nila or life goals
nila. So all I could hear is they want to enjoy
life more. That's all they want. Parang ano sila?
They're very close with each other. They feel
important. You see them, they take pride in it. So
they are seen, they are heard. So that feeling of
belonging, they belong. So parang nakukuha yung
ano nila. Maybe a little bit of loneliness,
ganyan. So they actually feel seen. Like how I do
the program, sila talaga yung magiging star. Lahat
ng show, lahat ng ano, sila talaga yung nasa
center stage. So talagang, like you know, just out
of respect. Kasi marami ng pinagdaanan nila. So
they really need to be valued.
Shiela Joy Labrador
Ayon sa Australian Bureau of Statistics, mayroong
higit 31,000 na Pilipinong ipinanganak sa
Pilipinas na may edad 65 taong gulang ang
naninirahan sa Australia batay sa pinakahuling
census sa taong 2021. Sheila Joy Labrador para sa
