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Background and Rationale of BMI
(a non-stock, non-profit organization geared towards the welfare of the Filipino elderly) Adele Joaquin, the President of BMI, and also having been the primary caregiver for her mother with vascular dementia for sixteen (16) years made her realize that caring for the elderly requires so much more than just mere physical presence. It requires dedication, a working knowledge of proper caring for them and a servant heart. Unfortunately, there are so many of those who do not know nor are properly trained to handle similar situations in the family. In the Filipino culture, the elderly live with their families, but there is a lack of education on the participation of family members in care giving, more so in the sharing of responsibilities. Thus, there is a need for public awareness and education on the principles and techniques in caring for the elderly within the context of the Filipino family system. For this reason, Adele founded the Bantay Matanda, Inc.
The purpose of Bantay Matanda is to look after the welfare of the elderly in society through projects which address their needs and concerns. The association was registered on August 3, 2005 with its administrative office located at 8 South A Street, Quezon City.
As part of the awareness program, a monthly lay forum was started in January 2006 every last Saturday. This was held at the Christ the King Seminary but was stopped due to the pandemic in March 2020. The online monthly lay forum was started in August 2021 via zoom and continue to this day.
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