By Ozioruva Aliu

BENIN CITY – THE Dagomo Foundation has called for consciousness of well-being among the elderly and the young to ensure healthy living and good health among the people.

The Chairman of the Foundation, Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru stated this at an event tagged Elders Fun day 2025 which was designed to promote aging gap, promote inter-generational bonding and elder care values among the youths and elders.

The event also featured inter-generational activities like football, track events, table tennis among other health related activities.

According to her, the Foundation was set up to help provide medical assistance and physical fitness to the elderly people and to commemorate her parents Surveyor Daniel Aiyanyo Omoigui and Barrister (Mrs.) Grace Onaiwu Omogui.

The former chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) said “The Foundation was set up to help the community and also to learn certain values, to care for others and people as they grow older. It is Kama law. If you care for others they care for you. If you build a society that doesn’t care, you will be the victim of such a society.

“We noticed that things are getting hard and difficult for people so that spirit is dieing. It is vital that as we bridge the gap between the old and the young, we can also demonstrate the spirit of caring for others.

“We do not have to know them before we help. We hope that through this kind of activity, We will share the learning of the older persons with the younger persons to build values. Hopefully, we will build a better society,” she said.

Omoigui-Okauru said through the Foundation, herself and her siblings have been giving free medical check ups to the people for over 12 years, while the aging games started four years ago.

“We also realised that as we focus on elder care that there are things that elders are learning late, that the youths need to learn early.

“So we shifted our focus as a Foundation from just the elderly, it caters for everybody but from an aging perspective.

“It is also very important we have intergenerational learning so that is why we want to mix the youths with the elderly so that they can learn from the mistakes, failures of learning of the elders, and not have to repeat the same mistakes.”

She disclosed that they are open to partnership but that there must be somebody in the locality that would drive the idea adding that they hope the idea becomes a movement and for the younger people to drive the concept and make it grow and be sustainable.

Speaking at the event, the National Vice President, Elders Association of Nigeria, Chief Eddy Ogbomo, advised the elderly people not to depend on their children alone but that they can still be useful by doing something for themselves.

Chief Ogbomo promised to partner with Dagomo Foundation Nigeria Limited to enable them care for the elderly people in Edo state.

An elder, Comrade Goodluck Imonitie, said he is one of the beneficiaries of the Foundation since its inception and thanked the founders for sustaining the project.