DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2020.v08i11.002

Pages: 549-552

Rural-urban migration is the movement of people from countryside to cities or towns. Such migrations are likely to cause rural-urban disconnect which is characterized by the weakening of social ties between urban migrants and the elderly in the countryside. This study intended to establish the extent to which rural-urban migration of the elderly persons’ offspring influenced social exclusion of the elderly in Alego-Usonga. The study established that migration of elderly persons’ offspring had an influence on the livelihood of the elderly persons left behind by their migrant offspring. The study found that migration was largely motivated by the search for employment opportunities in urban centres. This was due to limited employment opportunities in Alego-Usonga which is largely rural and by extension, having limited opportunities to absorb the unemployed youth. This coupled with rural hardship and the negative perception of the younger migrant population towards rural life contributed to out-migration and disconnect. Limited physical contact between migrant offspring and the elderly persons left behind was defined by the limited rural visits by the migrant offspring as well as the minimal elderly persons’ visit to the migration destinations to interact with their migrant offspring. Lastly the study established that majority of elderly persons felt socially excluded as a result of migration of their offspring to urban areas. Therefore, the findings confirm that indeed migration of elderly persons’ offspring to urban areas influenced social exclusion of the elderly in Alego-Usonga and by extension contributed to the rural-urban disconnect.