A spark in the twilight

DD Colony: In an attempt to redefine ageing process, city-based NGO, HelpAge India dedicated nearly 40 years towards fighting poverty, isolation, and neglect for senior citizens.

HelpAge India not only provides monetary relief to needy elders, but also helps them exercise their rights through advocacy and awareness programmes

Highlights:

• volunteers work with 300 senior citizen forums & teach them how to operate comp apps
• 55% of India’s senior citizens starve to bed every night
• Upto 90% of elders left homes to lead lives as destitute
• elderly helped through "Support A Gran" programme of HelpAge India

Working in close ties with its UK-based parent body, HelpAge International, which is recognised by the United Nations, the centre in India not only provide monetary relief to the needy elders, but also helps them exercise their rights through advocacy and awareness programmes.

With traditional joint family setup slowly disintegrating due to migration of people for education and employment, nuclear families are on the rise and senior citizens are reduced to mere spectators with no say in family issues.

In extreme cases, they are abused and forced to vacate homes. Tragically, over 55 per cent of the country's senior citizens starve to bed every night. According to a recent survey, 80 to 90 per cent of elders, who were physically or verbally abused, left their homes only to lead miserable lives as destitute. However, thousands of them still bear the ill-treatment meted out by their families in silence.

Notably, the Student Action for Value Education (SAVE) programme run by HelpAge India aims to raise awareness about sensitive issues of ageing and highlight the need for children to look out for their parents.

Under the "Support A Gran" programme, the NGO reaches out to over 300 elderly destitute at old-age homes to provide them monthly rations of wheat, rice, pulses, cooking oil and basic spices along with daily use items, such as detergent, soap, clothing, and money.

"It is unfortunate that both media and government turn a blind eye towards social evils against old people.

During our course of work, we encountered households wherein the elderly wouldn't talk at night as they were afraid that it might upset their children and many times the senior citizens were blackmailed to give up all they had to their children who disowned them soon after.

One would not believe that we rescued old people who were brutally beaten up by their family,” said Mohammed Raza Ibrahim, Secretary for HelpAge India in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Citing an example of Jayaram, a resident of Secunderabad, who sold his property for his son’s future, Ibrahim shared that as soon as the son got a job, he denied monetary assistance to the old man for his medication.

“We filed a case with the Secunderabad Revenue Divisional Office and in the third hearing, the jury ruled in favour of Jayaram. It is an eye-opener for perpetrators of such crimes and our first victory. Since then we didn't look back and helped to return normalcy to the lives of several helpless old men and women,” said Ibrahim.

In addition, livelihood programmes conducted by the organisation support nearly 500 elders' self-help groups motivating them to sustain themselves without being dependent on their children.

Apart from that, the NGO runs a special helpline with the Basheerbagh City Police office to rescue senior citizens from being physically and verbally abused. Over 40 volunteers comprising of students, IT employees and doctors work with nearly 200 to 300 senior citizen forums to teach the elderly how to operate basic applications of computers.

To top it all, HelpAge India also acts as a pressure group for the aged. An independent research and development wing of the NGO submits regular reports to the government suggesting policy changes in schemes related to the elderly.

By Maitreyi Tadepalli