How the 'sandwich generation' is stretching to care for loved ones, tech might be their lifeline

THE so-called sandwich generation, people aged between 30-50 years old, are juggling school runs and zoom meetings, managing grocery lists for two households, and now, trying to make sure mum gets her blood pressure checked while helping their adult children find stable footing in an unforgiving economy.

- ASHLEY LECHMAN

It's a full-time job. And no one's really talking about it.

"It's this silent pressure that people in their late 30s to 50s are shouldering. You're not just raising kids anymore, you're also parenting upwards. You're emotionally and often financially responsible for your parents, especially if they couldn't save enough for retirement. It's a lot," Tania Joffe, founder of Unu Health said.

South Africa's sandwich generation is feeling the squeeze.

Many elderly parents rely on their children for essentials, not just food and rent, but now, more urgently than ever, for healthcare.

At the same time, adult children may be boomeranging back home, still trying to find their feet in a high-unemployment economy.

"It's not uncommon for someone to pay for their child's university fees and their mother's blood pressure medication in the same month. And then their geyser bursts. It's relentless," Joffe added.