Sayam Prabha (Department for the Elderly)
The dream of the people all over the world to live long is now becoming a reality due to the advancement in socio economic development and sciences, particularly medical sciences. It is estimated that there are 416 million old people (aged 60 years and above) around the globe and by 2020 world's 11.9% of population will be above 60 years. In India also the trend is same, 7.5% of the total population is above 60 years and the life expectancy is increasing gradually.
Healthy ageing is not only related to the advances in medical technology but also related to the interaction of a wide range of social factors such as maintaining and enhancing physical and cognitive functions being fully involved in the society, leading a stimulating and productive life, living in a stable social environment and having meaningful personal relationships.
The diminishing joint family system in India and the various other social factors created a boom in emergence of old age homes, especially in cities. Various surveys done have confirmed that most of the elderly people consider home as a place where they can derive greatest emotional satisfaction. Elder abuse is one of the subjects of frequent discussion these days, whether it is institution based or community based. Elder abuse is not merely physical instead there are other major categories- physical, emotional, financial and neglect.
Old age and its problems are inevitable as one lives longer. With changes in joint family system and children leaving for far away locations including foreign countries in search of better life, the old members of the family are left to look after themselves in a phase of their life where they require maximum physical and emotional support. No care in an old age home can substitute for the care and love of the family members. In a financially rich background the person who succeeded throughout life to reach the present stage, it is highly humiliating to find that he is slowly loosing grip over life events due to advanced age. The feeling is, as if we are standing on the seashore with the waves washing away the sand from beneath our feet. This naturally leads to severe depression, which may even lead to suicide which is common in this group of people. On the contrary for financially poor old man poverty itself is a burden. Only support groups at this difficult time are either old friends, religious groups or most importantly the life partner – husband / wife. If one life partner dies, the other one is left completely devastated more. So if the wife dies, the husband finds it so depressing, females being much more capable of withstanding losses in life. For an old person, the last few years of life generally seem to be unending, feeling like a marathon runner seeing the finishing tape which often turns out to be a mirage. What she/ he requires is only some Care, Comfort and Compassion.
“Sayamprabha” aims at bringing together the elderly persons under a single roof so that they can share among themselves their joy, sorrow and hope. Emotional support shall also be provided to these people in the course of this project.
Major Activities of Sayamprabha
Meeting of the Beneficiaries
A platform shall be created for these beneficiaries to come together as a group once in two weeks. Transportation facilities shall be provided to bring them from their houses to the venue in the morning and back at the end of each day. During this time, they get the opportunity to mingle with each other. Food shall be provided to the beneficiaries on these days. Food shall be prepared as per the requirements of elder persons.
Life skill Sessions
Life skill sessions also will conducted on all the meeting days. Sessions on the basics of Yoga, Laugh Therapy, Counseling, etc shall be conducted on these days. These sessions will help them get engaged and thereby forget their sorrows and greaves. Small competitions and games were also be conducted in this regard. Interior gaming facilities like table tennis, caroms, etc shall be provided in this regard.
Medical Support
The service of a doctor shall be made available once in a month for the elder persons. Monthly check up of their blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, etc were also be done in this regard. These services will be of great support for the physical fitness of the beneficiaries.
Exposure Visit
Relaxation of body and mind is highly required in the old age. Inorder to achieve this, b we are conducting exposure visits. The visit shall be done to a place where they get a peace of mind.
Results
- The elder persons in the society will not have the feeling that they are isolated.
- The elders become emotionally stable to face any situations.
- Sharing of each person’s problems to others will give relief to that person.
- The life skill sessions will enable the elderly persons to effectively handle the problems, which arises in the old age.
- The project will create a feeling among the new generation to respect, support and care the elderly persons.
The Sayamprabha become a model in the Geriatric Social Care stream. Medical care itself is not the only support to be given to the elders. Care should be given or situations should be created where these elderly persons do not lose their inborn capacities and abilities. As Norman Cousins wrote “Death is not the ultimate tragedy, what is tragic is what dies inside us when we are alive”.
