Nagadevi Elderly Centre 2010
|
| India has traditionally been a country where the elderly have been shown great respect and most families would support parents, as they aged, within the extended family. This is still the case in many families but as more and more young people leave the villages to seek work further afield the number of elderly people who stay in the villages and who have very little or no support is rising. |
 |
Sasikila's grandmother shares a joke at the family home. |
|
| With
a donation from The South Indian Rural Development Trust, which supports
social development projects in the area, the Bishopston Kuppam Link
has been able to set up a day centre five mornings a week in a room
within the Pachaikili Play Centre building. |
 |
Everyone helped to clear the room in readiness for the day centre. |
|
| Starting with just ten elderly people from two villages it is hoped that the centre can be run as an innovative integrated resource, from which hopefully both the elderly and the young will benefit. The ayah will work for the elderly and the children, and will provide snacks for the elderly each week day. We envisage some interaction between the two user groups also, with perhaps the elders playing games with and reading to the children. |
 |
Saradha will provide snacks for the elderly and the playcentre children. |
|
| On a visit to India in January 2010 Link members met with local community self help groups who were very enthusiastic about the project. They understood our concerns about maintaining the elderly centre in the long term and their advice was invaluable. They have set up a management committee and have already opened a special bank account for the day to day running of the centre. They also hope to organise donations of food and possibly money from local people during festivals, marriages etc. |
 |
The ladies of the local Self Help Group will manage the day to day running of the elderly centre. |
|
 |
A village leader makes the first donation of Rs50 to help support the elderly. |
|
| Before leaving India arrangements were made to purchase a television, a CD and DVD player and several games including traditional local ones. A newspaper will be provided daily and there will be opportunities for the elderly to develop their own interests should they wish. The Rural Unit for Health and Social Affairs (RUHSA) will also provide regular medical checkups.
The centre will be opened officially some time in 2010 and named The Nagadevi Elderly Centre in honour of a very special lady who has been a great friend and support to the Link over a number of years. Nagadevi was very much involved with community work and we were all shocked and saddened when she died on Republic Day, January 26th, following a bitter struggle with cervical cancer. It was a great privilege to be able to spend some time with her and her family before she died
. |
 |
Nagadevi - mother, community leader, and friend. |
|