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By Charumathi Supraja Musician Lalitha Ubhayaker founded Ashvasan when she was grieving for her mother. Today, through 10-odd recreation centres spread across the city of Bangalore, Ashvasan works at healing “the self-esteem, dignity and sense of purpose” of the elderly
Muththamma, Thulsamma, Madamma and Kengamma are all residents of Bhuvaneshwarinagar slum in Bangalore. While they wait for their afternoon meal to be served at the balwadi centre in the slum, they discuss their aches and pains. They list their existential problems as senior citizens to Indulika Vijayasarathy, a volunteer from Ashvasan, the organisation that facilitates their care and wellbeing. “We need more newspaper to make bags. We earn at least Rs 300-400 by making newspaper bags,” they say. They are reassured by the news of an impending visit from the doctor. Mala and Kiran’s living arrangements are a far cry from those of the slum-dwellers. But they can barely manage their sprawling house in a posh neighbourhood. The wait for calls from children and grandchildren settled abroad is a long one; the e-mails are not as comforting as having real people around to drive away the silence of the evenings. And so Mala and Kiran sought the company of their peers at one of Ashvasan’s recreation centres for senior citizens. They know they are not alone now. They attend talks and interactive sessions on nutrition, finance management, healthcare and other concerns. They also take part in Ashvasan’s programmes for the urban poor. Ashvasan is an organisation that helps the aged in different classes of society. It works towards healing “the self-esteem, dignity and sense of purpose” of the elderly who are often lonely, forsaken or coping with multiple health problems. It also provides support services to families caring for their elderly. Ashvasan members visit the aged in their homes, facilitate day and night nursing, write letters of cheer, and organise picnics. Ashvasan’s activities involve the elderly as participants, not as beneficiaries. They are enthused to interact and take part in conversations and activities, and are encouraged to rediscover their lost confidence. At least 600 senior citizens across 10 recreation centres in different parts of Bangalore are renewing their sense of wellbeing through Ashvasan. The aged in five slums in Bangalore receive balanced meals, livelihood support and medical care through the organisation. Acclaimed musician and patron of the arts, Lalitha Ubhayaker founded Ashvasan when she was grieving for her mother. “I’d cared for her in the last years,” she says. She saw, at close quarters, the life of “quiet desperation” that sets in when the body ages and the mind fumbles for an understanding of these changes. When the world continues to rush by outside, a deep sense of isolation sets in. Lalitha began “thinking about ageing and the changes that the elderly have to face”. Faced with a deep sense of loss after her mother’s death, Lalitha felt she would receive some solace if she reached out to mothers who were less fortunate than hers had been. “I realised that many people have no one to care for their needs. I felt I had to do something to assuage my own loss and pay tribute to my mother’s memory,” she says. Lalitha saw that changing family structures, migration to other countries, and social changes were the prime reasons for the increasingly lonely lives of the elderly. She started Ashvasan “to fill that void”. Fourteen years ago there was no such organisation in Bangalore. There was also an acute lack of awareness and discussion about the problems faced by senior citizens. By word of mouth, people got to know of Ashvasan as a space for meeting and sharing ideas and time. A group of senior citizens started gathering in Lalitha’s garden every month. The people who volunteered to be part of the initiative at that stage are still part of Ashvasan, says Lalitha. “These are people who work for Ashvasan with no expectation of any kind.” The people who gathered in Lalitha’s garden bonded closely “without paying attention to differences of any kind”. Realising that there was a need for this network to expand, Lalitha and her team started recreation centres whose members meet on a particular day of the month. Talks and activities “show them ways in which they can look forward to life”. There’s a lot of togetherness, with members often choosing to celebrate their birthdays with friends at the centre. Their families also join in the celebrations. Seminars on relevant topics keep members informed and up-to-date. A home for the aged was a long-term ambition of the Ashvasan team. They collected funds over many years, hoping they would one day realise their dream of providing care and support to seniors living with dementia or Alzheimer’s. A survey revealed that there were 75 homes caring for the elderly, but all of them catered to the underprivileged. They were shocked to find that if seniors were diagnosed with conditions like dementia or Parkinson’s, they were sent back home. Lalitha says this made the team resolve that they would fill the need for a place where such senior citizens would be cared for. The dream proved extremely difficult to realise, however. Finally, Ashvasan contributed its funds and experience towards Asha Jeevan’s Home for the Aged being planned at that time in Gottigere, Bangalore. “They were very particular that we should not interfere with their plans, and we were more than happy to see that the purpose was fulfilled. Senior citizens living with mild or severe forms of dementia or other disorders had a place to find long-term care.” Based on needs reflected during their work with the elderly, Ashvasan began training men and women to become home nurses, for a short while. “We tried sincerely because people needed nurses to care for the elderly in their homes,” Lalitha says, recalling that no hospital in Bangalore had a geriatric nursing department at that time. “We got a stiff letter from the Red Cross warning us against getting into such training. They thought we were doing it commercially.” Ashvasan “escalated the issue” of non-availability of nurses for geriatric patients. Lalitha points out that this has now become a booming business for a number of agencies. “When I turned 50 and could not ignore the tremendous urge to do something for people, I joined Ashvasan as a volunteer,” says Indulika. Thirteen years later, Ashvasan has become an integral part of her life. Indulika went to the Bhuvaneshwarinagar slum hoping to help senior residents access pension and other social entitlements available to them under government schemes. It proved to be too complicated a task and she got into collecting medicines, food and blankets for them instead. A friend came over and taught the seniors to make newspaper bags. They enjoyed the workshop and started making paper bags for medical shops and gift shops; Ashvasan provides the paper, gum and thread. “The most difficult part is marketing those bags,” says Indulika. Around 35 people from the slum are part of Ashvasan’s afternoon meals programme. Facilitated by Titan, meals are also provided to senior slum-dwellers in four other slums across the city. Ashvasan keeps a detailed log of members accessing the scheme and people who drop out or are replaced by others. “It becomes difficult to restrict the numbers and insist that our scheme is only for the elderly. But we try because we hope that the young can work and earn their meals,” says Indulika. The scheme targets senior citizens who are ill, living alone, destitute or caring for orphaned grandchildren. “Madamma’s daughter was raped. She delivered a girl-child and ran away from home. Madamma is bringing up her grandchild,” explains Indulika. Eager to make more newspaper bags, the seniors gathered at the balwadi say they make around 15,000 bags between them. When a doctor visits the slum and gives them medicines, even if they are just health tonics and vitamins, the residents feel buoyed for days afterwards. “They feel they have been cared for, and that is what counts,” says Indulika. The 20 volunteers who keep Ashvasan’s activities going are almost all above 60 years of age. “We feel the circle will be complete only if the young get involved in some way or other,” say Indulika and Lalitha. When Ashvasan started, “we faced a lot of suspicion from families,” Lalitha recalls. “Families thought we wanted something from them or their elderly. Soon, it became obvious that we have no expectations but to give.” Contact: Ashvasan
Nanda Deep
15/3, Palace Road
Bangalore 560052
Tel: 080-22258091
Email:
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Website: http://www.ashvasan.org/
Note: Some names have been changed to protect identity
(Charumathi Supraja is an independent journalist based in Bangalore) InfoChange News & Features, September 2008 |
