Elderly get to “move with the times” at HelpAge's Agecare facility in Bhopal

Working out in a Gym is often associated with young adolescents and professionals. It is a rare sight to catch a person over sixty sweating it out at a Gym with all its modern equipment. HelpAge is breaking age barriers with the aim to provide a healthy lifestyle for the elderly, with the launch of an Elder Gym – Fitness & Wellness Centre, at Lions Club Senior Citizen Home Campus, Amrapalli, Chunabhatti in Bhopal (MP). Inaugurated by Mr. Babulal Gaur, Minister - Urban Administration & Development, this Agecare facility not only provides fitness options but also physiocare services for the elderly.

Marking the Foundation Day of Kalyan Ashram, an old age home in Kolkata, HelpAge India launched a Dementia Day Care Centre with the aid of Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India. Dementia is a serious illness in which affected areas of cognition are severely affected like memory, attention span, language and problem solving capabilities. It is most prevalent and debilitating in people above 65 years of age. The launch of the centre is a step forward by HelpAge India in addressing one of the more serious geriatric problems faced by the elderly. This day care centre has a capacity of ten presently and operates five days a week.

N E W S

SpeaksEDITOR Speaks

N E W S

6

Published & Printed by HelpAge India C-14, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi - 110016

Website: http://www.helpageindia.org Email: headoffice@helpageindia.org

Editor: Ms. Madhu Madan

Associate Editor: Ms. Sonali Sharma

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HELPAGE INDIA

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July - September 2011

July - September 2011Vol.10. No.2

n the short span of a month

since I joined HelpAge as

Country Head (Resource IM o b i l i z a t i o n &

Communicat ions), I have

witnessed a unique dedication

amongst my colleagues which

one rarely gets to witness in the

corporate world. At HelpAge it

feels like one is working with a

new found family of colleagues,

elders and donors who strive

each day to help the dreams of

our disadvantaged come

true.

From a Home Stay Camp site

high up in Leh-Ladakh providing

livelihood to needy elders, to the

opening of an Elder Gym –

Fitness & Wellness Centre in

Bhopal (MP), to a Community

based Palliative Care Project

running in Nagapattinam (TN),

with your support HelpAge is

reaching out to hundreds of

elders each day.

Our work towards the success of

the Student Action for Value

Education (SAVE) initiative is

well on track and is becoming

increasingly popular with school

students. We plan to extend this

program to colleges. In fact,

several recent studies show that

s u c h i n t e r - g e n e r a t i o n a l

programs offer lasting benefits

for everyone involved. The

youth gain a new sense of

respect, understanding and

compassion towards the older

generation and the elderly relive

their childhood with a new age

approach and are better

exposed towards the youth of

today.

One thing clearly stands out -

that the need is immense, but so

is the spirit of giving. I feel

humbled at the sheer power of

you - our Donors, who never

forget to light someone else's

life. I wish all of you a very

Happy Festive season. May your

generosity serve to spread

warmth in the lives of our elderly

each year!!

elderly

Vol.10 No.2

Madhu Madan

Country Head Resource Mobilization & Communications

Launch of Dementia Day Care Centre, Kolkata

A Heritage Tour for 26 senior citizens is

flagged off by Ms. Suja Roy, Councilor,

Corporation of Kochi. Also seen are: Mr.

Anup Khosla (second from right), Chief

Financial Officer, HelpAge India and Mr.

Biju Mathew (right), State Head (Kerala),

HelpAge India. The tour involved visits to

several popular places in and around Kochi

like the Dutch Palace, Fort Cochin and

backwaters for the elderly.

DELHI

Ms. Rojibala (second from

r i g h t ) , S t a t e H e a d

(Delhi/NCR) and Dr. Bobby

Poulose (right), Manager,

Programmes (Delhi/NCR),

HelpAge India, discuss the

proposal from HelpAge with

Ms. Sodhi, Director, Mission

C o n v e r g e n c e C e n t r e ,

stressing on urging the Delhi

Government to include

s e n i o r c i t i z e n s a s a

vulnerable group in its

National Rural Livelihoods

Mission program.

Mr. Pratip Chaudhri,

Chairman of State Bank

of India, hands over the

keys of the new Mobile

Medicare Unit to Mr.

Mathew Cherian, Chief

Execut ive , He lpAge

India. This MMU is

sponsored by State Bank

of India, covering its

capital cost of Rs. 5.97

lakh. Looking on are

members from the Bank.

MMU beneficiaries visit

the ICICI Prudential

office in Mumbai, where

e m p l o y e e s o f t h e

c o m p a n y a r r a n g e d

v a r i o u s r e c r e a t i o n

activities. This has been

one of the var ious

ac t i v i t i e s by IC IC I

Prudential in tandem with

a donation close to Rs. 10

lakh by the Chairman of

the company.

DEHRADUN

Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Former Chief Minister, Uttarakhand, hands over a cheque of Rs.90,000 on behalf of HelpAge India to Mr. S. P. Kochhar (left), Patron and Mr. R. S. Mishra (second from left), President, respectively of Federation of Senior Citizens Association, Uttarakhand. Looking on are Mr. Harbans Kapoor (right), State Assembly Speaker, Dr. Aapga Singh (centre), State Head (Uttarakhand) and Dr. H. S. Bakshi (third from left), National Director (Advocacy) both from HelpAge India.

A Generous Gesture by State Bank of India MUMBAI

A New Chapter in Agecare Initiatives

KOCHI

Showcas ing se l f

reliance of Senior

C i t i z e n s

Associations, the

First Annual Day

C e l e b r a t i o n b y

Federation of Senior

C i t i z e n s

A s s o c i a t i o n s ,

Uttarakhand, was

o r g a n i z e d i n

Dehradun. On the

occasion, elderly

who had contributed

to the society were

h o n o r e d . T h e

F e d e r a t i o n

presented a Charter

of Demands to Dr.

Ramesh Pokhriyal

N ishank, former

Chief Minister of

Uttarakhand, who

a n n o u n c e d a

support of Rs.5 lakh

towards the cause.

Madhu Madan

An elderly gets his regular physiotherapy treatment at the newly launched Agecare Services Hub in Bhubaneswar (Odisha).

Fitness & Wellness Centre launchedin Bhubaneswar

An Agecare Service Hub was also inaugurated in Bhubaneswar (Odisha) by Mr. Ananta Narayana Jena, Mayor, Bhubaneswar Munic ipal Corporation, at HelpAge’s office premises. This Fitness & Wellness Centre of HelpAge India is now functional and frequented by a growing number of increasingly fitness conscious elderly.

Mr. Mathew Cherian, Chief Executive, HelpAge India, interacts with students of Presentation Convent (Delhi), sensitizing them about the issues of the aged during his visit as chief guest for “Swarang” the inter-school painting competition which the school has been hosting since the past 10 years.

Gita Raha, 73, walked into the HelpAge office in Kolkata a year ago, brought by a member of a Senior Citizen Association, when she had no one else to turn to. She had lost all hope. Gita's case was one of complications. Seeing her e l d e s t d a u g h t e r R i n a s t r u g g l i n g w i t h t h e responsibility of being a single mother, Gita gifted her a one bedroom flat, where she along with her daughter and teenage grandson Indra, lived together.

Despite not working, Gita started contributing Rs.1000 every month towards the household expenses from her tiny savings. But soon things started spiraling downhill and the relationship between mother and daughter became awry. Rina started verbally abusing and harassing her mother daily along with the grandson.

Gita reached out to HelpAge in total despair and was counseled. After being advised by HelpAge staff members, she lodged a complaint with the local police station at Jadavpur on the basis of which she filed a case against her daughter under The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007, with the hope of revoking the gift given to her daughter.

HelpAge team member Shantanu met the local counselor in the neighborhood, as well as community members and sensitized them on the situation. Gita soon felt a new found strength to stand up for herself and shared her story with the people and media. With increasing pressure and a case lodged against her, Rina has now vacated the flat and with it, given Gita back her freedom and independence.

Value education needs to start early in life to be effective. HelpAge India has recognized this fact and has committed itself to spreading awareness among educationists, students, schools, parents and senior citizens alike. It is working towards launching it’s Student Action for Value Education (SAVE) programme which aims at sensitizing youngsters towards their role in caring and supporting the elderly.

Amidst the beautiful landscape of Leh-Ladakh at more than 10,500 feet above sea level, a first of its kind ‘Home Stay Camp Site' was launched in association with the Thiksey Monastery at Thiksey in Leh-Ladakh, called ‘HelpAge India Phanday Home Stay Camp Site'. Tents with attached bathrooms have been installed to service elderly and tourists during their visit. HelpAge has for the first time initiated such a livelihood programme for the elderly of the region. The elderly who work to maintain the campsite are those affected from the flood resulting from the massive cloudburst in the region last year, devastating lives and livelihood. The profit from the campsite will further go towards many livelihood initiatives such as kitchen gardening, sheep rearing etc. for flood affected families of the region.

he Elders for Elders initiative by HelpAge India is now moving in a new Tdirection with the Community Based Palliative Care Project at Nagapattinam under which a Nagapattinam District Palliative Care Felicitation Centre has been opened at the district hospital which provides counseling, guidance and treatment for elderly that require Palliative Care. The centre is guiding at least 200 elders through its helpdesk every day, with the aim to provide maximum help to the elderly, in terms of legal awareness, counseling, emergency care and much more.

N E W S N E W S

52

July - September 2011Vol.10. No.2 July - September 2011Vol.10. No.2

Elders for Elders Initiative

Elders gather at the special counter for senior citizens at the Nagapattinam District Hospital where they can seek help for Palliative Care.

The Story of Gita Raha

Ms.Gita Raha (left) along with HelpAge team member Ms. Anuradha Sen.

A cheque of Rs.1.36 lakh is being handed over to Mr. Mohd. Raza Mohammed, (second from left) Joint Director, Resource Mobilization, HelpAge India (AP) by 5th standard Student Gayathri, Vignan Vidyalaya, Nizampet, Hyderabad (AP), who collected the highest amount in the school for the cause. Also seen are: Mrs. S. Vandana (second from right), Principal, Vignan Vidyalaya, Nizampet, Hyderabad (AP) and Mr. N. Ramesh (left), Senior Executive, Resource Mobilization, HelpAge India (AP).

Ms. Indrani Rajadurai, Special Advisor, HelpAge India, delivers the SAVE message to the students of Vidhyodhaya Matriculation School, Chennai (TN). On the occasion, 1,300 students took the SAVE Pledge to support and respect their elders. They also gave a voluntary contribution of Rs.90,000 towards the cause.

An elderly woman eagerly shows off the new umbrella she received during an umbrella distribution programme organized with the support of HelpAge India in St. Thomas School, Godda, Jharkhand, by Fr. Rayappan (centre) Principal of the school. 50 senior citizens were given such umbrellas distributed by the students of the school. Fr. Rayappan also stressed upon the disappearing value system in children and youth of today and expressed the urgency to tackle the problem.

Dr. Shashi Banerjee (right), Principal of Bhawan Vidyala, Sector 15, Panchkula, Haryana, hands over a donation of Rs. 51,000 to Mr. Mathew Cherian, Chief Executive, HelpAge India. Also seen are: Student of Class II,

who collected Rs. 16,000 for the cause and Mr. Bhavneshwar Sharma, State Head (Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana & J & K), HelpAge India. Mr. Mathew Cherian helped the students pledge their support for the cause of the elderly.

Lata Jain,

A positive change in values among the Young

A doctor screens an elderly patient at the HelpAge supported Amala Cancer Hospital Society at Thrissur (Kerala). 26 camps for screening and early detection of cancer patients were organized.

Cancer Care

An elderly lady gets her regular health checkup done at the F i t n e s s a n d W e l l n e s s Centre, Thiksey, L e h - L a d a k h . Looking on is Mr. Avenash Dutta, Country Head (Programmes & Emergencies), HelpAge India.

Livelihood & Healthcare for flood affected elders of Leh-Ladakh

NL/SEPT./11

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