CommonAge scholarship delegate Femada Shamam from South Africa
We are delighted Femada Shamam from South Africa has accepted our scholarship offer to attend the IAHSA/ACSA conference, in Perth, 30 August – 3 September.
Ms Shamam graduated as a social worker from the University of Natal in the 1990’s and started her professional career as a social worker in the field of child and family welfare services. After two and half years she accepted a position at The Association For the Aged (TAFTA) as the Home Social Worker and Service Centre Coordinator. Sixteen years later, she is still working with this organisation and she is as passionate about enhancing the lives of older people today as she was when she joined.
Bringing with her a wealth of experience, Ms Shamam has been involved in a number of programs and projects focusing on older people. These includes education and awareness programs, community development, intergenerational collaboration and economic development focusing on older people and their ability to access additional income.
She focuses much energy around designing and implementing services to add value to the lives of older people and has participated in research activities including a community survey on the prevalence of elder abuse in a peri-urban area, north of Durban. Ms Shamam plays an active role in training service providers on different aspects of care and support and has presented papers at various conferences.
Ms Shamam also serves on different civil society bodied with a view to lobbying and advocating for the realisation of the rights of older persons.