A Forum of Love

In my village, Olavipe, there is an exclusive club where I am not yet eligible to join - Sneha Sadasse (Forum of Love). Only people of the village who have attained the age of 75 and their spouses can become members.

My younger brother Jacob Tharakan who is the incumbent at Thekkanattu Parayil (see: OLAVIPE: Heritage Home of Thekkanattu Parayil Tharakans.) mooted the idea. He noticed some of the difficulties faced by the old people of Olavipe and decided to do something about it.

A major problem of the senior citizens is loneliness. Most of them in our village are not literate. Therefore reading to pass time is limited to a handful. Even in the few households with TV the choice of programs is decided by the younger generations. Social visits are not part of the local culture. Lack of mobility compounds the problem for the elders.

Jacob started Sneha Sadasse during Vishu (April 14) 2007. The launch and continued operation of the scheme was made possible by the some young men of Olavipe who volunteered to contribute their time and effort. They identified about 90 eligible people in the village, most of them women, and brought them together, cutting across religion, caste and economic status.

The group meets on the last Saturday of every month, usually at a pandal (a large tent) in our compound, for tea and snacks and fellowship. Useful programs like free medical consultation are also linked to the event. There are also common birthday celebrations.

Sneha Sadasse had two special programs last year. One was a picnic to Cochin, which the elders thoroughly enjoyed. Another event was a meeting of the senior citizens and children of the local school (see: Autobiography of a School). The young ones sang songs for the senior citizens, read stories to them and asked them many questions about their childhood.

The old people, in turn rendered popular songs of their youth, taught the children how to make toys from coconut tree fronds and other locally available materials, and so on. One Brahmin lady gave a talk about seeing Mahatma Gandhi when she was a kid.

Recently a scheme for elders to cultivate medicinal herbs for their own use has been initiated. This done under the guidance of qualified Ayurveda physicians.

The members of Sneha Sadasse are all excited about their next picnic, on May 4. Many of them have not seen airplanes take off or land. The excursion includes a visit to the Cochin International Airport. Jacob and his team of volunteers are busy organizing it.

Have a good time, elders of Olavipe.

Ends.

Also see:

Old age care

Old age care contd.

Senior Citizens, blogging is a passport to good health

Old age care contd.

In my last post, Old age care, I had promised to give details of the Elders’ Nest project we had planned. Well, here it is. Detailing a project of this nature has to be site specific, but most of the services and facilities listed here can be worked into the scheme irrespective of location.

1. Tile roofed single storey, self-contained, fully furnished suits where fairly healthy senior citizens can live independent and active lives with privacy without a feeling of being institutionalized. Each of these would have yards in front and rear so that lawns/gardens can be maintained.

2. A geriatric centre (GC) with bath attached single rooms with doors that will open either way, and sit outs, to give total attention to sick and morbid old people.

3. A 10-bed polyclinic with laboratory *a Club to which a few selected outsiders also can be admitted *common facilities.

4. A mobile clinic and ‘meals-on-wheels’ program to help poor elders of the locality.

5. A roofed promenade offering protection from sun and rain will connect the suits to each other, the Elders’ Club and common facilities, all of which shall be at the same floor level to avoid ups and downs while walking and to make the areas wheelchair accessible.

6. The Geriatric Centre will have supportive physical environments like grab bars and handrails in toilets and hallways. Full-time home nurse and daily visits by doctor to be made available if necessary.

7. The facilities and services will include *restaurant * health food *cold storage *basic shop and pharmacy *prayer hall *amusement games *a ladies nook *library *room service *cleaning and washing up *garbage removal *laundry *sheet and towel change *gardening advice * accommodation for visitors *security cover *taxi cabs

8. Residents in the Elders’ Nest can cook their own meals or have food in the restaurant or resort to room service.

9. Health services will have *in-house doctors *alternate medicine doctors on call *regular check-ups *tie-ups with major hospitals and specialists *escort for major check-ups *mobile intensive care units *emergency call system *counseling *physiotherapy *palliative care.

10. Also available will be *indoor and outdoor games *swimming *trekking *boating *angling *picnics *putting greens *gardens and open spaces.

11. There will be *group activities *training courses *discussion forums *competitions *cultural events *scope for social service and interaction with the locals.

12. Apart from the staff that would be fully trained, the residents also would be taught basic first aid and the Golden Hour concept to handle trauma and emergencies. First aid kits and lifesaving items would be placed at strategic locations for immediate availability.

There is more, but that would make this post too long. What is envisioned is a combination of a home, hospital, hospice, hotel and a holiday resort aimed at servicing a rapidly growing need. It makes good business sense as well.

I hope someone finds this information useful.

Ends.

Old age care

All over the world, meeting the needs of the elderly is becoming a critical issue. In 2001 India had a population of about 76 million senior citizens and it keeps growing steadily. The problem of taking care of them is fast reaching crisis proportions particularly in India’s Kerala State.

The reasons for this situation include replacement of joint family system by nuclear units, migration of children, changes in attitudes and values, cultural gap, and difficulty in obtaining domestic help. Also, the younger generation often fails to understand that old age brings several problems that lead to emotional and physical stress and strain and that the elders have to be provided proper atmosphere, facilities and assistance to live in comfort with dignity and delight.

The vast majority of people do want to look after their parents. But they can’t give up jobs to tend to the elders. On the other hand, the elders may not want to stay with their children in strange places where they could turn out to be misfits. It is not just a question of money. Often the elders have sufficient funds to live without taxing their children. The problem is the lack of appropriate facilities. Actually this is the world scenario in the field of old age care – growing demand, dearth of facilities, and escalating costs.

Ten years back I had worked out the details of a project in Olavipe to provide, on a commercial basis, top class facilities for senior citizens. We had ideal land (still have), management expertise, and project funds would not have been a problem. The scheme was to be based on the concept of delaying the onset of diseases. This is a thrust area that would curtail medical costs considerably and improve the quality of life of elders.

The idea was to have two separate wings – one to offer comfortable and enjoyable independent living for the reasonably healthy elders and the other to care for the geriatric cases in a separate housing. A great deal of detailing was done to make it an ideal place for elders.

Then we ran into a roadblock – Coastal Restricted Zone (CRZ) rules which proscribed major constructions near water bodies subject to tidal action. The project was shelved. Later on the rules were relaxed, but by then we had turned to other things.

I plan to do a post detailing the facilities that we had planned, for two reasons. One is that it might be of help to people who plan to put up such facilities. The other is that it could be a sort of benchmark for those who are looking for places to spend their sunset years.

Ends.

Also see:

OLAVIPE: Gift of the waves to Kerala, God's Own Country.