Prayatn - Day Care Center for the Aged

      Old age has a dual definition. It is the final stage in the life process of an individual, and it is an age group or generation comprising a segment of the oldest members of population. The elderly have a set of needs that are somewhat unique. These mainly include health economic and social needs. Since times immemorial, the elderly have been accorded place of honor in family and community almost in all cultures. Usually in traditional Indian Society, the family took care of the elderly. With growing industrialization and urbanization, the institution of family has been affected. It has become unitary in place of joint. Due to this, the care of elderly has suffered. Now it needs external social support and additional facilities in the community to look after the elderly.
      It is in this context, Prayatn a voluntary organization working for the welfare of the disadvantaged sections of society, decided to address the needs of elderly residing at a slum cluster in Delhi where they were already working on other social issues. Majorities of the population of this community were migrants from other states and were engaged in various kinds of unskilled work. Due to their age and fragile physical state, a number of elderly from this community, especially the women could not find any source of earning income, and thus took to begging in a nearby temple.
      These elderly have very poor state of health and incidents of illness like Tuberculosis, etc is very high.
      With the objective of weaning these women from begging and also helping them in living the last few years of their life in a dignified way, Prayatn with the help of April Cornell and Concern India Foundation started a day care center for the elderly in the year 2000. Though initially the project faced a lot of problem in getting the cooperation of the families of these elderly but after a few efforts at sensitizing the community, the project started getting a positive response. Gradually a number of elderly, especially women started coming to the center. The project encouraged more elderly women than men to join the day care center because in this community there is a high percentage of elderly widows who need more support financially and emotionally.
      The project provides the elderly with supplementary nutrition and recreational activities like Vipasna (form of mediation), bhajan & kirtan (prayers), visits to religious places, etc. With the aim of sensitizing the elderly about certain socially relevant issues, especially related to the girl child and education, regular discussions are held at the center, where the elderly express their opinions. As the elderly are a part of decision making in most of the families, therefore sensitizing them would definitely help. The center also acts as medium for elderly to share their personal problems and come up with a positive solution for it. Also, regular health checkups are conducted for the beneficiaries and other health needs are addressed.
      The program suffered a major setback, when in the year 2001, the government relocated the slum cluster in which it was based to Madanpur Khadar, a place on the outskirts of Delhi. As this new location does not have proper water, electricity and other basic civic facilities, therefore the center took a lot of time to get reestablished. Some of the families choose not to come to this area at all and instead shifted in some other part of Delhi. Due to this at least 10 beneficiaries coming to the center also changed. Gradually new beneficiaries joined the center and now for the last few months the center has been functioning smoothly.
      Recently an eye check up camp was also arranged by the project where a number of elderly were given appropriate spectacles and 2 women who had cataract were taken to a surgery to a reputed eye clinic.
      The number of elderly coming to the center has been increasing, but due to lack of space, the project has been unable to enroll more than 25 elderly. According to the beneficiaries, the center is a major stress reliever for them and at a point of time when they were totally disappointed with their lives, the day care center came as a ray of hope for them. Being with the center has been a completely new and enriching experience for them. They have realized that even at this stage they can do something meaningful with their lives.
      Besides the normal routine the project has started providing the beneficiaries with training in paper products making. The project aims to make this as an income generation activity for the elderly. The elderly coming to the center have shown keen interest in this activity and they hope to earn some money from this so that they could be of some monetary help to their families.
      Today, the day care center has become like an extended family for the elderly. They have learned to share their happiness and sorrows and be there as a support for each other. They now feel healthier both physically as well as emotionally and see a meaning in living their life with dignity.