Respecting the elderly

“Orphan elders”are older people who have outlived all their family and are neglected by their kith and kin, therefore they don’t have any caregivers. They are a largely ignored population whose numbers are expected to burgeon with the medical explosion that has paved way for a longer life and smaller families. Neglect is the most common form of abuse towards orphan elders at 48.7 % followed by emotional, financial and physical abuse.

SCAD helps give the orphan elders a life of dignity through programmes including a monthly old age pension, medical assistance, elders’ self help groups and annual exposure visits for elders.

One such exposure visit was organized for the elders by SCAD’s Mr. Velmurugan, who is responsible for the Elders Programme and is loved by the elders just as he loves them. Around 50 elders excitedly took part in the exposure visit to Kanyakumari on Sunday, 22^nd April, 2012. The group left with a prayer in the early morning. Everyone enjoyed the travel time with the elders and the SCAD staff dancing and singing and cracking jokes. On the way to Kanyakumari, they visited Thiruparappu Falls and all the elders enjoyed taking a bath in the waterfalls. Shamsudheen, a differently abled elder, happily said,

“Being physically challenged, I have never had the chance of visiting any tourist spot or places of interest. This is the first time that I am taking bath in a waterfall and I am thankful to SCAD for having given me this wonderful opportunity.”  

From there they went to a place called Maathur to see the Hanging Bridge and visited a temple. Finally, on reaching Kanyakumari, the elders visited places of historical importance such as Vivekanandha Rock, Gandhi Memorial, Thiruvalluvar statue and most of all enjoyed seeing the sun-set at around six o’ clock. Then they went on a shopping spree and enjoyed buying themselves little things. With their shopping they started for home, but with heavy hearts as this memorable day had come to an end.

On Friday, 27^th April, 2012, around 25 elders enthusiastically took part in the exposure visit to the hilly area of Kaaraiyaar, where they viewed the dam, went on a stroll amongst the herbal garden, visited the Pabanasam falls and the temple nearby and played a few light games. Next they went to the river banks of Mookudal, where the elders enjoyed bathing for some time.

Mrs. Petchammal cheerfully said, “All my life it was my dream to go on a picnic to some nice place for a day, which was never fulfilled. This dream of mine has come true towards the end of my life; thanks to SCAD.”

Mrs Nagalakshmi’s Sapota Trees

Mrs Nagalakshmi set aside one acre of her five acre plot in 2007 to grow fruit trees and, with the help of SCAD’s tree planting staff, she planted trees for the next three years. Initially she planted 50 Sapota trees and has subsequently added a further 55 trees comprising of Jamun, Tamarind and Guava. The Sapota trees have just started to fruit and she has sold the crop for £200 (RS 15,000).

To supplement her income before the fruit trees started to bear fruit, SCAD staff convinced her to plant Sorghum as an inter crop and provided her with some subsidised seed. Sorghum is easy to grow and can survive the dry and hot conditions of the Vilatakulam area that she lives in with minimum attention. This has proved a great success as she uses the Sorghum for fodder for her cattle and has started to sell Sorghum seeds to other farmers in her locality This seed selling combined with the money she has saved by not having to buy as much fodder for her animals is providing her with a good return from her land.

Mrs Nagalakshmi is very happy with the outcome especially as, in addition to the extra income, she now finds she does not have to spend as much time ploughing, tilling, weeding and watering. As a result of her experiences she now plans to convert more of her land to tree planting and Sorghum production instead of the cotton and green chillies that she has traditionally grown.

The species of trees are carefully selected bearing in mind the soil conditions and SCAD insists on at least five varieties of trees to spread the risk of failure. Mostly grafted one or two year old fruit trees are recommended. These saplings are twice as expensive as non grafted varieties but they fruit much more quickly and can start to yield after three years. This is a crucial factor in persuading farmers to set aside land for trees.

If you would like to help us support farmers in Tamil Nadu you can donate here.

SCAD work with VITOL for the future of the differently-abled

The Indian charity ‘The Association of People with Disabilities’ claims 17 million people with disabilities in India do not receive support such as mobility aids. SCAD is working with VOTOL to help support young people with physical and mental disabilities. So far in the last six months we have been very busy with this mission and managed to organise

• 5 Orthopaedic and assessment camps attended by a total of 310children with physical and/or learning difficulties a total of 490 children with physical and/or learning difficulties received treatment.
• 56 parents received training and support in caring for their children with learning and physical difficulties
• 114 Government ID cards were successfully applied for in order that the children concerned will be eligible for state benefits for their condition
• 58 “at risk” pregnant mothers received training aimed at reducing the risk of birth defects and 15 of these mothers had follow up training once their babies were born
• 10 older young people received Income Generating Programme loans and support to start their own business.
• 5 older young people received vocational training in either tailoring, bicycle repair or petty shop work
• 55 school teachers received training on how to best support and inspire differently abled children in their classes and to encourage inclusive education
• CBR Training was given to 98 members of the Women’s Self Help Groups
• 3 Special Self Help Groups have been formed
• 12 children have been provided with aids and appliances

Case study

Chinnakarppagam, is 18 years old and she is from Vilathikulam. She has Cerbral Palsy and mental disabilities. Because of serious difficulties with coordination she never learnt to walk properly and has always crawled.

ChinnaKarppagam has been receiving CBR treatment and support from SCAD since 2009. SCAD arranged a Government ID card and monthly Stipend for her. She has been given progressive daily exercises to strengthen her legs and improve coordination and balance.

Field workers encouraged Chinnakarppagam to walk every day with the help of a support in the home and motivated her to help her mother with cleaning and general housework.

She has now learnt to support her mother in the home and is no longer considered a burden. After regular strengthening exercises and regular treatment she has been able to walk inside and outside since December 2011. Her mother is extremely happy. To help us to help another child like Chinnakarppagam please donate here.

A Life Free from Hunger

Last week Save the Children released a report entitled ‘A Life Free From Hunger’ and in it they declare that 48% of children in India are stunted in their growth due to malnutrition. Although this is an aggregated number and doesn’t account for regional differences in such a large and diverse country – with over 28 different states – it also reveals the dire condition many people in India are still living in. India is now the World’s 10th largest economy and has an obligation to look after the most vulnerable and destitute people.

Malnutrition is not only a problem for growth it also severely prevents individuals and families from being able to work. The report says

“The economic losses due to undernutrition are also pervasive – experimental evidence suggests that tackling malnutrition in early life can lead to as much as a 46% increase in earnings as an adult. Productivity loss due to foregone waged employment was estimated to be US$2.3 billion a year in India”

Save the Children – A life Free from Hunger Feb 2012

At SCAD we work tirelessly to make sure that the communities in the Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu do not suffer from severe malnutrition and therefore stress on their earning capacity. Global food prices are increasing, UNFAO says that a basket of food is nearly 37% higher now than it was in June 2010 and this is an added pressure to poor, remote rural communities.

What are SCAD doing?

SCAD are

- helping over 2,500 women to plant kitchen gardens and grow nutritious food for themselves saving up to RS 2,000 per month

- planting between 80,000 – 100,000 indigenous trees per year – many with nutritional qualities

- teaching children about growing food in their schools and training in nutritional supplements

- ensuring mothers and babies get the nutrients that they need to support healthy growth

To see more about the amazing work our women’s self help groups are doing with kitchen gardens please watch this video