Siddhi Shaligram Senior Citizen Home providing specialized care services to elderly persons

Elderly Mothers at Senior Citizen Home

Kathmandu: Enrolling seniors in elderly care homes is often taken as a negative act and can be considered as negligence from family members in Nepal. However, Siddhi Shaligram Senior Citizen Home of Bhaktapur has been challenging the stereotype and providing good care to the needy elderly people.

Due to lack of awareness among the public and lack of knowledge about elderly care, many elderly people have been facing various problems and often spending time in a miserable condition. However, such people at the senior citizen home have been enjoying their time with people of their age.

“We are able to interact with people of our generation and also spend quality time. There was no one in our family to talk and spend time with me as my children and grand-children are busy in their work,” says an elderly person staying at the centre.

37 elderly persons have been staying at the centre, which has the capacity to accommodate 60 persons. This includes some people who do not have anyone in their family to take care of them. People staying at the centre contribute a nominal fee ranging from NPR 5,000 to NPR 15,000 monthly/yearly? (Approx. Euro 400 to 1,200) based on their financial capacity. Some people have been getting services free of cost. Although the contributed amount does not cover the needs of elderly people, they have not compromised on the quality of services rendered to them.

Dhaubhadel interacting with senior citizen.

The gap in the resources is being covered by individual funding and by hosting volunteers from abroad. The founder of the organization, Shyam Sundar Dhaubhadel, and his wife also run the Siddhi Memorial Hospital in memory of their son, who died a while back. The hospital has been providing quality services to needy women and children in an affordable way. “During one of my trips abroad, I visited an elderly home in Canada. While I was observing the centre there, I realized the need of such a centre in Nepal as well, and started the home here,” says Dhaubhadel. As it is said, where there is a will, there is a way, the elderly home, which was started without much resources, has now been providing residential care to over 35 elderly people (men & women) and providing a very homey/ homelike environment.

Elderly persons involved in recreational activities.

The elderly care home has also been running a day-care programme for elderly people who have to spend their time alone when their family members are out for work. They are taking part in religious and recreational activities. Services are being offered by a team of professional care givers including nursing staff to the elderly people. As a result, the elderly people have been enjoying homely environment in the centre.

Although the centre has been doing a very commendable job, there is a need on raising awareness about the elderly care system in Nepal. Due to social stigma and lack of awareness about elderly care, many people are still hesitant to provide specialized care to their parents in such elderly care centres. As a result, elderly people are compelled to spend a miserable life. The support from the government is very negligible to senior citizens. In this context, there is a need of promoting such initiations but the government and relevant authorities are yet to pay heed to this issue. There is a need of creating favorable environment to the elderly people where they can spend their last days in a dignified way.

Dhaubhadel says that elderly people should be linked with health insurance and other elderly benefit packages so that they can spend their retired life in a dignified manner and not be a burden to their family members. The state can benefit from the experience of elderly persons if appropriate mechanisms are being made to utilize the skills and experiences they have acquired. Dhaubhadel feels that we need to change our mind-set that keeping guardians in elderly care centre is not neglecting them, rather it is providing them specialized care.

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