Esteemed Elders.

I am constantly humbled by the health and status of the elders in Anam.

Every culture relates to their elders differently. In Anam, as is true in most of Nigeria, and probably most of Africa, the elders are revered for their wisdom of experience and are cared for by younger members of their family if they are not able to live alone. Children are like the insurance plan to make sure that someone will care for you in the future. For many of the elders in the community, they never need to cash in on this insurance plan as they are healthy and independent well into old age.

The elders make all of the most important decisions in the community. Anam has an elder council that is composed of the oldest men from the eight different Anam communities. This egalitarian system has a long history of consensus making and democratic process to make decisions. They advise and endorse plans by younger members of the community. They bring justice in a culture where it is hard to imagine life without corruption and lack of legal recourse. They are the authority that everyone must be accountable to and the voice that has the final say.

While I think that generally American culture could learn to embrace the wisdom of elders more, the thing that amazes me most is the health and vitality of the elders that I meet. In Abegbu, where we met with the elders, one man was 97 - almost 98 - living alone with most of his visible teeth still in his mouth. He could recite the history of his community with all the names and dates from the time of his birth when we asked him about the history of his people. In his house, a 'younger woman' carried a bench in from the veranda. She was 89. In Otuocha, I met a woman who was 82 had malaria and was boiling leaves to treat it. She didn't want her photo taken because she was sick, but she had the most amazing smile. Two other men that we greeted were in their upper 80s and looked vital as they sat watching people pass by for the market. These are not isolated occurrences: meeting healthy, even vigorous, elders in the community. In a community where poverty and disease are rampant, where clean drinking water and proper sanitation are hard to comeby, we must ask: what are these elders doing that allows them to live such long healthy lives?

And further, how can we recreate this in the New City?