SHILLONG, Aug 20: Meghalaya’s first private senior citizen home, Kripa Victoria Senior Citizen Home, was inaugurated at Nongsder Umroi Ribhoi district by RM Kurbah who is secretary to the government of Meghalaya’s Health and Family Welfare department in the presence of FR. Joe Pereira, Emy Kharchandy district social welfare officer (DSWO) besides many others.
Kripa Victoria Senior Citizen Home is a small and specialized home dedicated to caring for senior citizens above the age of 65.
Founder of the Kripa Foundation and Trustee Father Joe Pereira said that the Kripa Victoria was born out of a longing of Mother Teresa’s heart to reach out to the society who need very special care.
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Fr. Pereira said that the principle of the Kripa Foundation is to mutually share vulnerability, brokenness and pain paradoxically empower the human being and the same principle will be here in Kripa Victoria Senior Citizen Home.
“At Kripa Victoria Senior Citizen Home, we will reach out to these senior citizens, not from being all right but share the brokenness and pain with people who come here to experience the ongoing love,” said Fr. Pereira.
Fr. Pereira said that in the context of today’s world, there is a dilemma and young people have had to go abroad like in the United States and many other countries.
He added that though some of them have taken their parents to their workplace destination yet there is nothing like home sweet home and India is unique and particularly Meghalaya.
Speaking during the inaugural program, DSWO of Ri-bhoi district Emy Kharchandy informed that as per the 2011 census there is about 1.2 billion population in India and 51.54 per cent are males and 48.46 per cent are females.
Kharchandy said that there is a significant feature of demographic changes in terms of the number of elderly persons which is on the increase and the survey indicates that in the last 50 years the population has increased and the number of elderly persons has increased fourfold.
“In 2005, the life expectancy of a person is only 65 years that means the lifespan of an individual or a person is only up to 65 years but now we can see there is an increase of life expectancy to 75 years which means that there is a better medical facility, better medicines, better research work and with this a liberal family planning which made the elderly population, the fastest and growing extension population in India,” said Kharchandy.
Kharchandy said that 35 percent of the elderly population belongs to the below poverty line (BPL), of which 60 per cent are residing in rural areas and 90 per cent do not have social security.
She added that with changing social-economic scenarios like urbanization, industrialization and the increase of women participating in the workforce have led to the erosion of the family or the joint family system and the extended family system in India.
“With the impact of economic socio scenario, our elderly are being marginalized, they are being isolated, so they are the ones who suffer the most as most of our senior citizens are illiterate and they do not know about their rights, they are ignorant of their rights, they are ignorant of what aspirants they can expect from their children” she added.
Kharchandy said that as per a survey, it has been found out that out of 6 elderly persons, 1 of them do not obtain nutritious food, they do not have a proper medical facility, they do not have proper medicine, they do not have money for medicine and 1 out of 2, they do not receive proper treatment or good conduct from their family and relatives.
Secretary to the government of Meghalaya in-charge of health and family welfare R.M Kurbah in her speech said that with the world changing, there are very few old elderly people have the chance to stay with their partner or their children hence there is a need for a such facility to provide care for the elderly.
Kurbah said that it gives satisfaction to learn that there are people in the state like the Kripa Victoria Senior Citizen Home who have taken such responsibility to come out with such facilities to provide accommodation and care to the elderly people of the state.
“It is kind of hurt when you say you have to keep somebody in old age home but then we look at the situation now with modernity and of course with the unemployment issue, people especially our children have to move out without taking their parents in search of jobs or employment elsewhere,” said Kurbah.
Kurbah said that the state government through social welfare will look forward to working together in order to have more ideas or to improvise more on how to run such facilities in order to provide care to the elderly of the state. (NNN)
