preview

India Is A Leading Charity For Disadvantaged Elderly For More Than 3 Decades Essay

Good Essays

HelpAge India is a leading charity in India working with and for disadvantaged elderly for more than 3 decades. It was set up in 1978 and is registered under the Societies ' Registration Act of 1860. Traditionally the focus was to improve the quality of life of destitute elders primarily in the rural areas through its welfare projects by providing free rations, free medicines and consultations and conduct free cataract surgeries. It slowly spread its wings and started focusing on long term sustainability options for these elders through various livelihood projects and helping them form Elder Self-Help Groups, which today span India. For the last few years, there has been an increased concentration on advocating for elder rights, engaging with the government on framing of new legislation and pushing for the implementation of the National Policy of Older Persons. HelpAge is now also increasingly focusing on the concerns of urban elderly having realized that even relatively economically advantaged elders face emotional and physical problems. Mathew Cherian CEO "It has been a long innings for all of us at HelpAge, but there is still so much left to be done. We are now increasingly looking at not just providing relief to the needy elders, but also towards demanding what 's rightfully theirs by working as a pressure group and joining the force of senior citizens working closely with them, for them". HISTORY HelpAge India began the late 1960s when the speaker of the Lok

Get Access