HOME FOR THE SENIOR CITIZENS OF VANASTHALI

PROFILE OF THE AREA:

Home for the senior citizens at Vanasthali, being run by the Rashtriya Seva Samithi, Tirupathi, was started on 01.01.1993, under the aegis of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (Previously Ministry of Welfare), Govt. of India, under the Ministry’s scheme ‘Integrated Programme for the Senior Citizens’.

Vanasthali, Anjaneyapuram Village is located in Renigunta Mandal. It is 15 km away from Head Office at Tirupathi and 80 km away from the headquarters of the District Chittoor. It lies on Kadapa trunk road.

The home located in a very peaceful atmosphere, where in RASS is maintaining a Krishi Vigyan Kendra in an extent of 75 acres with gardens, nurseries and training and research centres.

The centre is located in a building with all facilities like kitchen, recreation hall, dining hall, store room, sleeping hall, library and toilet with ample water resource and power supply.

Vanasthali covers 8 villages with 800 families with a population of 4526. Agriculture in this area primary depending on rainfall and people depends on agricultural labour. 85 percent of the people are from families under Below Poverty Line (BPL).

INFRASTRUCTURE:

The home is used as a rest house for old age people. It is also used as a sacred junction for the cultural and social activities. The home consists of 9 Bed rooms, recreational hall, kitchen cum dining and store room. TV and Tape Recorder was also installed for recreational purposes. Spiritual movies are being telecasted to the Senior Citizens to reconcile themselves from personal problems and also develop self-confidence, faith.

NUMBER OF INMATES:

As per the guidelines of the ‘Integrated Programme for Senior Citizens’, 25 senior citizens from the nearby villages who are above 60 years of age are given admission. These inmates are from poor and low economic background and are in need of help, who after losing their spouses and as there were none to take care of them are living lonely in the huts and recollecting their past experiences.

These inmates stay day and night in the home. The home is providing food, shelter, clothing, medical aid, etc. Majority of the inmates belongs to SC, ST and Backward Communities.

SERVICES PROVIDED:

Most of the inmates have age related health issue such as eye sight, development of immature cataract, partial deafness and bodily pains. They were individually checked by doctor and administering timely medicines. Some of the inmates with matured cataract got operated. Improvement in general health has been observed.

The home provides part-time doctor facility who visits twice a week and on need basis at times of emergency. A team of Doctors from SVRR Govt. General Hospital, Tirupathi visiting this home once in three months. They are undertaking Blood Pressure checking, Sugar levels checking, ECG and General Health Check-up.

The home is often conducting Medical Camps with Specialist Doctors in General Medicine, Ortho and Ophthalmology with the support of local Government Hospital.

1. Food:

The inmates are providing nutritious food - breakfast with tea; afternoon lunch; biscuits with tea in the evening; and dinner along with some fruits in the night. Eggs are served for 5-days in a week.

2. Clothing:

Twice in a year, the home is providing the inmates saree with a blouse for the grannies and dothi with towel for the granddads along with a blanket each.

3. Shelter:

The inmates in the home are staying day and night. The home consists of a prayer hall, dining hall, recreational hall and each inmate is provided with one cot with bed.

4. Therapy:

As the age increases most of the senior citizens cannot tolerate either extremes of heat or cold due to decreased vascularity of the skin. Many of them are suffering not only from bodily pains but also due to poor vision. Nurses are taking preventive measures by administering timely medicines and soon.

5. Recreational Activities:

The home is providing Television with Dish connection and tape-recorder facility for recreational purposes. A library with dailies; periodicals; traditional, historical and philosophy books is being maintained for the literacy refreshing of the inmates.

Inmates are facilitated with visits to nearby important places, such as Regional Science Centre, Zoo Park, Chandragiri Fort, Yerpedu Ashramam, Suka Brahma Ashramam, Srikalahasthi Temple, etc.

6. Income Generational Activities:

The home is facilitating for lower intensity vocational trainings and to practicing them for personal income generation. The interested inmates are being trained in leaf-plate making, rope making, sericulture and also other small agricultural works. Due to these vocational activities the inmates are developing self-esteem and having mental relief.

ACTIVITIES AT THE CENTRE:

The inmates take bath first then they go for prayer in a separate room. After prayer they take break fast in the dining hall and take some rest. Later, some of the inmates get involved in cleaning the provisions, vessels and in cooking. Those who cannot do any type of work sit under the tree and recollect their past experiences.

Lunch is provided to the inmates at around 12:30PM. By 4.00 PM, inmates are given snacks with tea; and food and fruits in the night. Weekly five days they will be given eggs. Every month we are providing counseling for the inmates for strengthening of their mental health with professional councilors.

ACHIEVEMENTS DURING 2020:

During the year 2020, 4 inmates have undergone cataract operations.

Observed important days like Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanthi, Elders Day, Republic Day, etc.

Religious festivals of Sankranthi, Diwai, Ramzan, Chirstmas, etc., have been celebrated with fervor.

All the inmates of the Home express that they were deserted not only by the society but also by their own children. Today they have developed positive self-esteem with the support of the home and with little money they earn from vocational activities.