Thailand opens nursing home for elderly of all faiths

( April 24, 2013) A nursing home for the elderly of all faiths has been opened in Thailand. The Diocese of Chaiyaphum, in the northeastern part of Thiland has undertaken a project for senior citizens in a country that is increasingly aging (like in Europe) because of a declining birth rate.
Bishop Joseph Chusak Sirisut, who is the behind the initiative, enlisted the support of the St Camillo Foundation to build a nursing home for the elderly called 'Ratchasima Home'. Originally inspired by the Jubilee of the Elderly celebrated on 17 September 2000, an initiative dear to the Blessed John Paul II, the project is now reality, despite economic and social challenges. "Seniors in Chaiyaphum are forced to go to St Mary's Hospital for assistance," said Bishop Sirisut. Here they have to "pay a monthly fee of more than 30,000 Bath" (slightly more than a thousand dollars) for care in a facility that has few beds.
The project is divided into three phases, the first of which will be completed by the end of next year and will provide fifty beds for the elderly. The second and third phases will depend on donations and locally and internationally raised funds. According to the National Economics and Social Development Board, seniors constitute 11.2 per cent of Thailand's 64 million people, one of the highest proportions in all of Asia. Thus, Thailand is an increasingly aging society. In 2008, seniors numbered 7.4 million. By 2020, they are expected to be17.7 million.