The Plight of the Elderly - Tuesday part 1
First on Tuesday's program, we drove out through the town of Hindupur in search of a particular old people's home that Manni had planned for us to visit. Following the small unsealed roads between houses, we eventually found the right place after asking for directions from enough people. Ronny wasn't with us for this trip, but his top tip for asking directions in India is to ask as many people as possible, and see which direction gets the most votes...
Arriving at the old people's home was a bit of a shock for me. I have worked in the field of health and rehabilitation, and worked for a while in a nursing home for elderly people with dementia. While best practice is definitely not always adhered to in nursing homes in developed countries, I am definitely aware of principles of maintaining dignity and privacy, the need for occupation and mental stimulation, benefits of physical activity, and so on. This particular old people's home was a series of about 4 rooms built in a row, each opening onto a bare concrete veranda. The first room was an office/kitchen etc, with women inside preparing food on the floor of the room. The subsequent rooms were bedrooms, filled with 7 or 8 basic beds that were constructed of a metal frame, with fabric webbing woven across the frame. Each bed had a basic mattress roll that was rolled up at the foot of the bed, along with some sheets and a mosquito net. The rooms contained a set of small lockers for the residents to keep their possessions in, and in each room were some religious and spiritual artefacts. Each room also had a chalk board; administrative bits and pieces were chalked onto the one in the office, while in the bedrooms the boards had drawings and mottoes inscribed.
From my western perspective this all seemed very bleak, undignified, and not particularly healthy. I was particularly concerned about the mental health of residents who had so little by way of stimulation or occupation to help keep their minds healthy. Despite this however, when we visited, some of the residents seemed relatively cheerful and a couple were had quite a cheeky sense of humour!
Reflecting on the visit later in a chat with Ronny, he reminded me that in the villages people have very little in the way of possessions, and little by way of occupation apart from chores and work. he said that feeling a need to have possessions is a very western thing, although I don't agree with this 100% because the people there did want to have bedding that was in better repair, more clothing items, and maybe some chairs.
Another reason I wasn't convinced that this style of old people's home is adequate was the reaction of Manni when we were there. Although she is a very strong woman, and she is very stoic, I could easily see that she was quite upset when talking with one of the old ladies. It turned out that Manni knew this lady, and had been very shocked to see her here. The lady was the mother of an ex-staff member from SEDS. The old lady's daughter is doing well enough financially to have a nice house and the things that she needs, so she has the financial capacity to care for her mother. It broke Manni's heart to think that this old lady could be living in comfort with her own family, but instead is languishing in an impersonal hostel for elderly people. Seeing a strong woman like Manni become emotional really touched me, and although I couldn't talk to this lady due to the language barrier, again smiles and gestures were enough to at least convey my positive sentiments. I feel I must have been successful in this because when we left, the lady put her arms around me and gave me a big cuddle.
Old people in these parts of rural India can apparently often be kicked out of the house itself, and made to sit and sleep outside the house. I don't know how true or how common this is, we have certainly seen a lot of old people sleeping outside as we've driven through villages, but we have also seen younger adults sleeping or resting outside too. If older people are made to live outside, I do suppose that these shared bedrooms are an improvement on that, and I am aware that my own sensitivities around privacy are not reflected in rural Indian culture. The set up still seems less than ideal to me though, so I have had to work hard to remind myself that mitigation of a problem is still a worthy aim.
Arriving at the old people's home was a bit of a shock for me. I have worked in the field of health and rehabilitation, and worked for a while in a nursing home for elderly people with dementia. While best practice is definitely not always adhered to in nursing homes in developed countries, I am definitely aware of principles of maintaining dignity and privacy, the need for occupation and mental stimulation, benefits of physical activity, and so on. This particular old people's home was a series of about 4 rooms built in a row, each opening onto a bare concrete veranda. The first room was an office/kitchen etc, with women inside preparing food on the floor of the room. The subsequent rooms were bedrooms, filled with 7 or 8 basic beds that were constructed of a metal frame, with fabric webbing woven across the frame. Each bed had a basic mattress roll that was rolled up at the foot of the bed, along with some sheets and a mosquito net. The rooms contained a set of small lockers for the residents to keep their possessions in, and in each room were some religious and spiritual artefacts. Each room also had a chalk board; administrative bits and pieces were chalked onto the one in the office, while in the bedrooms the boards had drawings and mottoes inscribed.
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| Inside one of the bedrooms |
From my western perspective this all seemed very bleak, undignified, and not particularly healthy. I was particularly concerned about the mental health of residents who had so little by way of stimulation or occupation to help keep their minds healthy. Despite this however, when we visited, some of the residents seemed relatively cheerful and a couple were had quite a cheeky sense of humour!
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| Cheeky humour - the guy in the white shirt who is sitting down kept trying to take selfies with us, and the guy in the white shirt who is standing up kept photobombing him! |
Reflecting on the visit later in a chat with Ronny, he reminded me that in the villages people have very little in the way of possessions, and little by way of occupation apart from chores and work. he said that feeling a need to have possessions is a very western thing, although I don't agree with this 100% because the people there did want to have bedding that was in better repair, more clothing items, and maybe some chairs.
Another reason I wasn't convinced that this style of old people's home is adequate was the reaction of Manni when we were there. Although she is a very strong woman, and she is very stoic, I could easily see that she was quite upset when talking with one of the old ladies. It turned out that Manni knew this lady, and had been very shocked to see her here. The lady was the mother of an ex-staff member from SEDS. The old lady's daughter is doing well enough financially to have a nice house and the things that she needs, so she has the financial capacity to care for her mother. It broke Manni's heart to think that this old lady could be living in comfort with her own family, but instead is languishing in an impersonal hostel for elderly people. Seeing a strong woman like Manni become emotional really touched me, and although I couldn't talk to this lady due to the language barrier, again smiles and gestures were enough to at least convey my positive sentiments. I feel I must have been successful in this because when we left, the lady put her arms around me and gave me a big cuddle.
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| SEDS staff Govindamma, Ratnamma, Manni, & Radha with their former colleague's mother |
Old people in these parts of rural India can apparently often be kicked out of the house itself, and made to sit and sleep outside the house. I don't know how true or how common this is, we have certainly seen a lot of old people sleeping outside as we've driven through villages, but we have also seen younger adults sleeping or resting outside too. If older people are made to live outside, I do suppose that these shared bedrooms are an improvement on that, and I am aware that my own sensitivities around privacy are not reflected in rural Indian culture. The set up still seems less than ideal to me though, so I have had to work hard to remind myself that mitigation of a problem is still a worthy aim.
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