The 2011 South African Census revealed that 1 in every 20 people of the population is
aged over 651. However, living a long life is not enough. The quality of that life is becoming
increasingly important, which has prompted interest in the area of successful aging.
Successful aging refers to the ability to age well. This encompasses good physical and
mental functioning, life satisfaction, social functioning and social support. Successful
aging has been associated with a positive psychological stance in later years, as well as
general well-being and happiness2
. Elderly individuals are generally subjected to limited
resources, yet many are still able to age successfully. People who are able to adapt
successfully to adversity are usually regarded as resilient. Cultivating and strengthening
resilience can play an important role in assisting the elderly to cope with difficulties they
may encounter and increase their happiness.
The UNISA Institute for Social and Health Sciences and its partner, the MRC Safety and
Peace Promotion Research Unit, conducted a photo documentary on successful aging in
five communities in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The photo documentary is located
within a larger safety, peace and health promotion programme, the Ukuphepha Initiative:
Demonstrating African Safety. Through visual research methodology, the project seeks to
use portraits of local people and their stories to explore and promote successful aging. The
photo documentary represents an innovative approach to eliciting narratives of successful
aging. In addition, the use of visual research methodology contributes to the development
of unique historical, contextual and artistic evidence on the subject of successful aging.