An Experience In Age Esteem

Age Esteem abounded last night at an annual event in Grand-Saconnex, one of municipalities of Geneva, Switzerland when they awarded the “Mérite saconnésien”. It is a ceremony to award local citizens for the outstanding contribution they have made to the local community or to the world.

My dear friend Heli Bathija received this award for her work to save babies in Afghanistan. Heli is a medical doctor who retired from her career at the World Health Organization several years ago. Retirement gave her the opportunity to redirect her energies and experience to new areas of interest. One of these interests led her to found Hope For The Babies (HOBI).

The idea is simple, yet life changing and life saving. The mortality rate of newborn babies in Afghanistan is extremely high. This is for two reasons: 1) Mothers usually give birth at home in disastrous hygienic conditions. 2) Hypothermia. The babies die from the cold.

Dr. Bathija’s prevention was simple. Offer warm sweaters for the babies of mothers who come to the local health centers to give birth. It results in the mother giving birth in more sanitary conditions and the baby is kept warm.

Since Dr. Heli Bathija had lived and worked in Afghanistan, she had good contacts to make this happen. But where would all those sweaters come from? – From knitters, of course! So she set out to find women and men who knit, beginning with the knitting club in her own community. Today she has knitters in many parts of the world, including France, Canada, U.K., Finland…as well as many people contributing wool and money to help it happen.

Heli Bathija is a living example of age esteem, proving it is never too late to launch a new idea or to make a lasting difference. Through her age esteem she is enhancing the course of lives, not only of mothers and babies, but also of people who knit with a purpose – to give a fair chance to a newborn.

At this same ceremony, the knitting group of Grand-Saconnex also received the “Mérite saconnésien” for their outstanding contribution through the knitting of countless sweaters, blankets and bonnets for the newborns in Afghanistan. Without these dedicated women using their creative talents, Hope For The Babies may not have taken off in such a dynamic way, stimulating interest from other like groups.

Here, too, Age Esteem was evident since the knitters were elders in the community. Their leader, in light green in the above photograph, is 92 years old. She, and the other women in this group, are beautiful models of age esteem. It showed through their energy, relationships to others in the community and their commitment to making a difference.

Bonnie Fatio