What happens to the elderly in villages when they fall sick or are unable to continue with their routines when, for example, a fall or a stroke immobilises them? Things get more difficult and doubly hard. Thanks to the Prabal Yatra programme started by voluntary organisation ARTH in Udaipur, Rajasthan, many old people are being attended to and cared for. Medical service is provided, backed by dedicated community workers. However, challenges, especially unexpected ones, are par for the course for initiatives such as this, says Bharat Dogra. The learnings and problem-solving methods can help policymakers frame measures that can make such help available to a much bigger target group, he points out
Bheru Singh is an 80-year-old farmer of Bagruda Village in Rajasthan’s Udaipur District. He and his wife, Tulsi Bai (78), attend to all the chores on their small farm themselves, including looking after the animals, besides doing their household work. Understandably, things are becoming more difficult for them as they age, and when either of them falls ill, things become doubly hard. Just imagine the situation then, when both are incapacitated – that’s exactly what happened recently. Bheru Singh suffered such severe body ache that he was unable to work as usual, and Tulsi Bai, who had to take on the extra load, slipped and fell on a rocky pathway and fractured her hand.
To make matters worse, Tulsi Bai suffered a stroke. Though their neighbours pitched in to the extent possible, the situation was bleak – that is, until the Prabal Yatra (PY) programme started by voluntary organisation ARTH (Action Research and Training for Health) kicked in. Rekha, a community coordinator from the initiative, has been regularly visiting this couple. Medical care was arranged for them despite the many difficulties involved. Gradually their condition started improving. Now, Bheru has recovered enough to bring fodder for the farm animals. Tulsi Bai is also better.
The return of one of the couple’s sons from Surat City was a shot in the arm, but Bheru and Tulsi Bai are conscious of the timely help they received from the PY initiative. They share their problems with Rekha. Tulsi Bai’s declining vision due to cataract is a concern, and Rekha is already exploring the possibility of arranging corrective surgery.
An elderly neighbour, Kamala, has already undergone the surgery with PY help, and reports happily that her vision has improved significantly. Rekha is able to identify several elderly villagers who need help. Pointing out one to this writer, she said, “She’s a widow, and has hardly any vision. I have been trying to get her to come for an eye check-up, but her son is not cooperative.” It is because of the involvement of people like Rekha that many elderly people in distress are able to get the help they need.
Seventy-year-old Wadi Bai is one such beneficiary. She suffered a hip fracture after a fall at her home. PY helped her access treatment, and later provided her a walker so that she could be mobile enough to meet essential needs. Nanalal Gayari, a community coordinator of ARTH, spoke of Ambia and his wife, an elderly couple in Mohini Village, who were both physically disabled and living in a neglected condition. PY helped them get a ration card, solar lighting and walking sticks.
In village Ambavi and neighbouring areas, many people suffer from asbestosis and silicosis acquired from working in asbestos mines which were once active in this area. While the mines were shut down some years ago, the adverse effects on their health continue. Some of the workers received compensation after being officially classified as suffering from occupational diseases. Others, like Naaru Lal, who has been severely weakened by disease, has not got any help because he wasn’t put under the occupational disease bracket. Though ARTH community workers like Amrithlal and village-based social workers like Arjun have been working to get these victims some help, it’s an uphill task.
Challenges, especially unexpected ones, are par for the course for initiatives like PY. They use innovative community-based methods to solve overcome them. Lessons can be learnt from such initiatives that will prove useful at the policy level and help evolve meaningful strategies and programmes which will help widen the scope of efforts by individual organisations to help the elderly in remote rural areas.
(The writer is an independent journalist and author who has been writing for over five decades, providing a strong perspective on peace, justice and protection of the environment. He lives in New Delhi.)
from Webdoux