Annual Report Page 40

Bengaluru
Bengaluru
April 2014
Antithesis That Makes One Great Talk by Sudhanva Desai at
Hebbal Coffee Chavadi
Oct 2014
Acupressure – Talk by Dr. Balasubramanyam Reddy was organised at
Vidyaranyapuram Chavadi
April 2014
Dr. Venkatesh from Fortis Hospital: a talk on Cardiology.
Nov 2014
Kannada Rajyotsava Celebration, a wonderful state festival
celebrated and enjoyed by members.
April 2014
Pot luck organised at Mahalakshmipuram Chavadi where
Dignitarians came out with their new recipes
Nov 2014
Visit to IISc by Vidyaranyapuram Chavadi – A two day seminar.
April 2014
Organ Donation by Members Of Good Hearted Souls
Nov 2014
Talent show of Members organised at Vijayanagar Chavadi.
April 2014
Diabetic Information by Dr. Radha
Dec 2014
CSR activity by Standard Chartered Bank made Dignitarians
play games and enjoy refreshments sponsored by them.
May 2014
Enjoy dance by Seema, aerobics instructor
Dec 2014
Quiz on Physics was organised by Hebbal Chavadi by
our Dignitarian Shakuntala.
Dec 2014
Anita Chandra from New Jersey U S A made herself free to educate
Dignitarians on “Maintaining Your Health” at Jayanagar Chavadi.
Dec 2014
Preventing disease as you age: a Talk
Dec 2014
Recollecting our four Years of the centre -- 4th year Anniversary
celebrated at Vidyaranyapuram Chavadi
May 2014
“Stealth in Modern Electronic Warfare”
– Mr. PSR RAO had a wonderful talk with slide show
May 2014
Legal tips - Mr. Murthy retd. Manager SBI, wonderful legal hour at
Vijayanagar Chavadi
June 2014
Held the first Carom Tournament in the month of June at
Jayanagar Chavadi. Dignitarians participated in good numbers and
prizes were awarded to the winners.
June 2014
Talk on Satellite Technology and its application was held at
Vidyaranyapuram Chavadi.
Dec 2014
M C Rangarajan talked on “Tata’s New Car Running On Air”
– Automobile idea sharing by Members
July 2014
Maiya's a well known restaurant demonstrated their recipes at the
Jayanagar Chavadi, and they had brought all the ingredients, and
held demo of many recipes.
Jan 2015
Rajeshwari from Sagar Hospital spoke about prevention of Fall and
Preventive at Jayanagar Chavadi.
Jan 2015
Aug 2014
Image building through Soft Skills (In English) by Mr. MSR Rao,
a stimulating full hour with the scientist.
Story Telling-Akbar Birbal/Tenali Ramakrishna – Dignitarians went
back to their school days and recalled stories they remembered.
Feb 2015
Sep 2014
Fancy dress competition at Jayanagar Chavadi. Dignitarians
dressed themselves like brides and bridegrooms of different culture
and demonstrated the unity in diversity.
Frontiers in Medicine at Narayana Hrudayalaya on 24th 25th of
February 2015.
Feb 2015
NU Hospital organised a mega health camp and free health check up
was done for Dignitarians.
Interesting and useful information about DD Magazine was
discussed.
Mar 2015
Dr. Radha Murthy of Nightingales Medical Trust gave a talk on
Active Ageing.
Talk on Mother Theresa at Vidyaranyapuram Chavadi. It seemed
Dignitarians comprehensively understood the depth of her suffering
Mar 2015
Ali Khwaja of Banjara Academy related to seniors
at Hebbal Chavadi.
Sep 2014
Sep 2014
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Chennai
Chennai
April 2014
We ushered in the Tamil New Year with a ‘pattimandram’ – a debate
in Tamil on the topic “Science & Technology or Spiritualism – What
helps senior citizens in their Golden Years” by members of the
Kamban Kazhagam and a karaoke on yesteryear melodies.
Sep 2014
The Steering Committee, Helpline Committee and Events Committee
comprising of enthusiastic Dignitarians were formed .They are now
very active groups and support all activities of D.F.
April 2014
Dignitarian, S.V.Sekar released the 1st issue of our bilingual
Newsletter which we have been rolling out month after month since
2013. It has helped us share and discuss our projects, our
achievements, our hopes and has become a forum where our
members could express themselves in both Tamil and English.
Oct 2014
May 2014
We started the “Summer Camp with a Difference” – where our
Dignitarians spent time with children, taught them life skills and
recreated the atmosphere of ‘summer at patti, thatha’s house’. Two
summers down and this has been a great success!
We conducted Suraksha Bandhan where we went to schools and
encouraged the children to tie Suraksha Bandhan bands to their
grandparents with a vow that they would never do anything to hurt
them. Painting, slogan and quiz competitions were conducted for kids
on the theme of grandparents. “Quizzing with your grandparent” was
the theme where each participating team had to have one senior and
a child. It was a beautiful evening where at the event children who
had not come with a grandparent and seniors who had come without
a child quickly bonded, formed teams and were soon guessing away!
It was conducted by The Hindu Young World Quiz Master
V.V.Ramanan, who held the audience’s attention all the time.
May 2014
D.F. was awarded the Rolling Shield for the Best NGO by Bahaii
Association at a grand event at Chinmaya Vidyalaya
Oct 2014
June 2014
We celebrated the 19th Anniversary of Dignity Dialogue. We
honoured Sahitya Academy Award Winner Asoka Mitran. Danseuse
Dr. Anita Ratnam spoke on how literature and art could be a window
to one’s expression and emotions. Author Dr. Kamalie Sripal and
R.V.Rajan encouraged seniors to write, read and learn new things.
We recognised contributors to our magazine and Dr. Anita Ratnam
released Dignitarian Malathi Subramanian’s Anthology of Poems.
World Elders Day was celebrated and the theme was “Anecdotal
Evidence”. We discussed the helpline cases that we had received and
the solutions to their problem. The panel comprised of former DGP,
Letika Charan, Hon’ble Justice Mathivanan, Madras High Court and
senior Journalist Ramalingam. The session was moderated by Raza
Narayanan.
Oct 12, 2014
We celebrated World Arthritis Day at GRT Convention Centre.
Starting with a good breakfast, we held games for seniors,
Dr. Arumugham spoke on “Winning Arthritis” and actor and
comedian Ramesh Khanna had the audience in splits with his
humour.
Nov 2014
We organised a 3 day tour to Courtallam – the Spa of South India in
the Western Ghats. Dhanapaul and Sasi Rekha accompanied 18
Dignitarians on a tour that came back with great memories to
cherish.
Dec 2014
To create awareness about D.F, the problems of the elderly and the
support they require we organised a “Walkathon on the Marina”.
Our Dignitarians, senior citizens, students and members of different
organisations in Chennai participated. It was a fun event starting
with yoga, warm ups, flag off by Actor Sivakumar and his ever
inspiriting talk. We ended having a scrumptious breakfast
Dec 2014
The 5th Anniversary of our Dementia Day Care Centre was
celebrated on the lawns of the Centre in Palavakkam. M.K.
Narayanan, ex-governor, West Bengal was the chief guest and
Dr. P.V. Dhananjayan, dance maestro was the special guest. We had
over 100 invitees.
July 2014
Aug 2014
We conducted a “Health and Wellness Camp” for the benefit of
senior citizens at Gallery Shree Parvathi Hall. It was a weeklong
programme where Uma, a yoga and wellness exponent from Maldives,
taught them simple yoga and relaxation techniques for 45 seniors
with music and dance. This was very well received.
We celebrated the Independence Day at the office with flag hoisting
and a tour of “Known places but Unknown facts” by Raza
Narayanan, a visual tour of places where the Freedom Movement was
significant in Chennai.
Aug 2014
We also started celebrating the birthdays of our members at different
old age homes so that we double our joy and make life more
interesting for the less unfortunate. We had also collected and
donated clothes and rugs for the residents.
Sep 2014
The Free Legal Clinic which is an offshoot of DIGNITY HELPLINE
was inaugurated by Justice Bhaskaran. It was spearheaded by
Advocate Raza Narayanan. Every month ungrudgingly he helped us
deal with and advice seniors on legal entanglements. Through the
Free Legal Cell more than 150 seniors had benefitted. This initiative
brought us lot of public visibility.
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Chennai
Goa
Jan 2015
We kick started the New Year with an “Appraisal and Planning
Meeting”
April 2014 to
March 2015
Jan 2015
Celebrated Republic Day at our office with flag hoisting and Kreeda
games -- which brought in their wide array of board games and toys
of yesteryears. Dignitarians enjoyed reliving their childhood days and
shared memories of playing them in their younger years.
Frontiers in Medicine
A day out for Piku movie
Investor’s awareness programme
Eat right and Stay right
Investment opportunities for seniors
Usage of smart phone for seniors
Women’s day celebration
Jan 2015
We celebrated Pongal with the traditional Pongal Panai and games
like tug of war and ‘uri adikirathu’.
Jan 10, 2015
Regular chai masti sessions commenced
Jan 2015
We organised a three day trip to Yelagiri - a hill station in the Vellore
District. Dignitarians thoroughly enjoyed the break and company.
Feb 2015
The free library for seniors was inaugurated in our office by noted
journalist and author His Highness, Shree Kumar Varma and Prof.
Aludiapillai. We now have an exclusive collection of more than 1000
books from the personal collections of avid book lovers.
Feb 2015
We started a new Tehneer Arangam centre in Anna Nagar. The first
programme was “ Vilaiyadalam Vaango” by Kreeda games
March 2015
We hosted the Healthcare event, a two day symposium on Allopathy
and Alternate Medicine. Doctors from different specialties spoke on
the latest advancements in healthcare followed by an interactive
session.
March 2015
We celebrated International Women’s Day, where we honoured
well-known author Sivasankari, Meiyammai Murugappan, Visalakshi
Ramaswamy and Dr.P.Manorama – all elderly women who continue
to inspire people with their work.
March 2015
In March we started working for the underprivileged seniors in the
slums of Saidapet and Kannagi Nagar. We work closely with the
community to find out their problems, build trust and help them.
We have conducted a free eye camp with Udhi Eye Clinic for the
elderly in both areas. 20 free cataract surgeries were done and we
sponsored glasses for 50 seniors who were prescribed the same.
Health, financial inclusion, empowerment, skills development,
introduction of Government schemes are some of the projects we are
working on. We are helping them open bank accounts and sponsoring
the health/accident insurance put forward by the Government. We are
also working to get the govt sponsored schemes they are eligible to
receive.
Mar 2015
Kolkata
July 2015
We support Health and Hygiene Project in different Old Age Homes
in Kolkata. “Sohomormi” an Old Age Home in Dhakuria benefited
this time. We conducted a General Health Camp in Sohomormi on
24th July. There was a general health check up including BP, Sugar,
ECG, Height and Weight followed by Doctor’s consultation. As a part
of the Hygiene support, we distributed Health and Hygiene products
like phenyl, lizol, handwash, soap, savlon etc to the residents.
Aug 2015
On 15th August WBHIDCO invited D.F to Senior Citizens Park
(Swapna Bhor) at New Town in Rajarhat. There was a cultural
programme organised by all Four Chai Masti centres. The programme
started with the welcome speech of the Chairman, Debashis Sen
followed by the performances of the Chai Masti Centres... The
Independence Day Special Programme was highly appreciated by
nearly 95 seniors who were present in the auditorium. It was a great
outing for the seniors on that day, as Transport facility (Pick and
Drop) was being provided by HIDCO.
We have started the free ration service where we supply free ration to
needy seniors who can no longer work and do not have anybody to
support them. 30 seniors have benefitted from this scheme.
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Pune
April 4, 2014
April 15, 2014
Pune
Session on Managing Hypertension and Diabetes by Homeopathy
Feb 24, 2015
Session on Water management....a challenge for the globe by
Crispino Lobo
Mar 9, 2015
International Women's Day-A Documentary Screening
on Gender Equality
ECG Checkup camp by Ruby Hall Clinic, Wanawadi,
April 27, 2014
Dignity Dialogue Anniversary Event at Ruby Hall Clinic, Wanawadi
May 12, 2014
Hobby and Talent show. .
Mar 10, 2015
Dental and General Heath check up by Apollo Dental Hospital,
May 13, 2014
Demonstration of Yoga Techniques and Pranayam by
Natasha Menezes
Mar 13, 2015
Celebrated the Holi festival of colours.
Dr Sheilu Sreenivasan’s visit to DF Pune to address all members.
Members enthusiastically responded by signing up to volunteer in
committees to run the activities.
April 2014 to
March 2015
57 Govt of Maharashtra Senior Citizen’s ID cards were issued.
July 4, 2014
April 2014 to
March 2015
190 Helpline cases received at Pune Helpline, out of which 98 cases
are active and 92 are closed after satisfactory resolution.
April 2014 to
March 2015
Under the Dignity Companionship project 18 members were
provided with companionship volunteers
April 2014 to
March 2015
Dignity Discovery to mitigate loneliness – a quarterly trip to scenic
sites near Pune. The trip encourages people to come together and
forge new friendships. One picnic to Iskon Temple was very popular.
April 2014 to
March 2015
Dignity Ration Programme: Monthly basket of basic provision to help
10 Leprosy families.
July 22, 2014
Outing to New Iskon Temple
Aug 11, 2014
Wine tasting programme.
Oct 6, 2014
Tried and Tested Ayuvedic Medicines from Haridwar,
addressed by Dr Tabib
Nov 12, 2014
World Elders Days Celebrations
Nov 14,2014
Children’s Day Celebration
Nov 18,2014
Free Medical checkup by Sanctus Healthcare
Dec 9,2014
Diabetes Management followed by free medical checkup and
physio assessment by Sanctus Healthcare
Dec 15, 2014
Christmas celebrations
Jan 2, 2015
New Year Celebrations
Jan 9, 2015
Prevention of Heart Disease by Dr. Kulkarni
Jan 16, 2015
Greriatric Health by Dr Rain
Feb 14&15
2015
Frontiers In Medicine – two days of Talks by various
physicians and therapists
Feb 20, 2015
A Bhajan Programme by Kadambari Bhajan Group
Feb 23, 2015
Session on Counseling and Mental Health issues of mentally
challenged adults-conducted by Dr Neelima Desai
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Loneliness
Mitigation Centres
Euphemistically referred
to as ‘Chai Masti’
Life after retirement can be quite lonely as a person no longer has an active social
circle. There is no meaningful activity that one has every morning when one wakes
up and there could be a sense of loss of identity. All this leads to a deep sense of
loneliness and loss of self-image. Even if some people are lucky to live with their
children, they realise that everyone is busy with their own lives and have no time or
inclination to talk to older adults. Loneliness leads to depression which in turns
leads to many health problems.
D.F.’s Loneliness Mitigation centres are euphemistically referred to as Chai Masti
centres. These centres provide a platform for senior citizens to interact socially,
build a support network, boost their self esteem and lead an active life. The centres
run from Monday to Friday for 2 hours, usually 4 pm to 6 pm.
Loneliness Mitigation Centres have structured activities to promote:
Social interaction and sharing with peers
Learning new skills
Physical and spiritual well being
Offer a platform to display their talents and get recognition
Some of the key structured activities conducted at the Loneliness
Mitigation Centres are:
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Guided Tai Chi
Yoga
Bridge, Carom, Chess etc.
Antakshari
Birthday Celebrations
Group Singing
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Around 1500 senior citizens come on a daily basis to the 18 centres
across 7 cities – mitigating loneliness and enriching lives. The Chai
Masti centres are a beehive of activity, laughter, learning, and
bonding, expanding of horizons and most importantly, of belonging.
The concept of Chai Masti is built on the sound Buddhist principles of
Kalyana Mitrata. In Buddhist writings a friend is endowed with seven
qualities, worth associating with:
Life at Chai Masti……
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A great variety of experiences members receive including outing,
Talks, Celebrity meetings, spiritual inspirations, performances and
other active participatory events.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
He gives what is hard to give.
He does what is hard to do.
He endures what is hard to endure.
He reveals his secrets to you.
He keeps your secrets.
When misfortunes strike, he doesn’t abandon you.
When you’re down and out, he doesn’t look down on you
Despite the common image of the Buddhist as the ultimate solitary
wanderer, we see from the above and other verses throughout
Buddhism, the central importance of admirable friendship. Two sides
of admirable friendship are discussed:
*The first is finding and cultivating admirable friendships, as opposed
to our
ordinary, everyday friends.
*The second side is in how we, as friends, may best support one
another on the path.
Supplemented by Psychologist Eric Ericsson’s concept of Ego Integrity
as a very desirable goal to achieve in one’s senior citizen hood, this
Buddhist principle of Kalyana Mithratha has been implemented on
ground by D.F. in order to help senior citizens work towards a level of
equanimity and self respect through the daily enriching programmes.
Quiz
Games
Old Hindi Songs/Movie Screening
Talks by doctors, financial experts, Lawyers, etc.
Festival Celebrations
Indian Dance
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Mumbai
function, and joined it with a wavering mind
because 4 pm was not suitable to me. I
thought maybe I will attend it once a week.
But on 28th October my mother expired. I
was grieving badly. On 31st October I got
call from our Co-ordinator Elizabeth, that
Dignity Chai- Masti will start from 1st
November and I thought this as His divine
intervention….and started attending its
sessions. Since then I have never looked
back. Every evening at the stroke of 4 I am
at our popular joint Chai Masti. My personal
thanks to Dr. Sheilu Sreenivasan to have
come up with this concept and lighten our
lives forever! I can’t imagine life without it.
Mira Road Centre
Chembur Centre
Says Dignitarian Ravikumar Vutha
Darshna Thakker, Coordinator (50)
Life has truly changed its course after we
have taken membership at D.F. It has
become a school for us at this age, educating
us on many aspects, giving us an
opportunity to meet new people, make
friends, celebrate various festivals,
understand different cultures, organize
several events etc. We have all been in a
cocoon of family responsibilities and career
for all these years burying our inner talent &
skills. It was D.F. which pulled us out of the
cocoon with flying colors and gave wings to
our creativity. A personality change has
taken place. I am no more a shy person.
I now love dancing, singing, having fun with
my friends and most importantly, do not shy
away from flirting with my wife in open!
I have again become a naughty teenager!
Hence, there was always this fun, crazy,
witty, unexplored side of me which got
unraveled through D.F. Kudos to Dignity!
We are really enjoying this second innings of
our life! I eagerly look forward to attend my
school nowadays!
I will complete 3 years with D.F. by end of this
year. When I joined Dignity as a chai masti co
ordinator I thought I will have to be a person
who will have to continually give pep talks and
motivate the senior citizens to enjoy
senior citizens and society at large. life but I
was in for a pleasant shock. The senior citizens
of Chembur chai masti centre are fun loving,
full of energy and child like enthusiasm.
Says Elizabeth Alfred (55) Coordinator,
Mira Road
I had spent a large part of my professional
career as a nurse mostly caring for Senior
Citizens. I joined DF on 8th October, 2007
as Coordinator. The Centre serves as a
second home not only for the members but
over the years for the Co-coordinators as
well. By virtue of sharing our joy, sorrow and
happiness with the seniors, we often forget
our domestic problems. I have by now
become a part and parcel of the organisation
and its mission of service to humanity. I am
confident that in the coming years we will all
grow with expanded vision and dedication.
I am no longer afraid of ageing because
they have taught me to age gracefully,
while having fun.
Says Jitendra Prasad Verma, I joined in
2008; my very first day was most thrilling. It
was a very great experience to meet together
with seniors from all parts of India and all
faiths-- a real life case of unity in diversity in
loving friendships. The programmes are very
interesting and varied -- from Yoga, Tai-Chi,
Aerobics, Dancing, Talks, Games & Picnics; I
also enjoy all the programmes. I particularly
love the magazine Dignity Dialogue which is
so informative and touching in covering
great lives of simple people and celebrities...
I have become a better daughter to my
parents and am able to now truly understand
their needs. I have come to a stage where
I feel that not just Chembur centre but
entire D.F. is my extended family.
I am truly grateful to D.F. for having faith
in my work and giving me this opportunity to
do good work for
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Says Dr Vijaya Bhatia, I remember 18th
October 2007 when Dignity Chai Masti was
inaugurated at Mira Road; I attended the
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varied backgrounds. Coming from the world
of technology I enjoy sharing my knowledge
and skill to co-members. I am amazed at the
level of grasping and enthusiasm from people
ranging from 60 to 90 years! Today we have
one of the most active WhatsApp groups
with over 200 messages daily. With this new
group I have traveled far and wide to
Bhutan, Dubai, North India, Daman,
Lonawala etc. Every day at 5pm it is pure
excitement to walk into our centre and greet
all. I strongly recommend seniors to join
DF.CM.
Powai
Happy Times at Chai Masti
By Dr. Jeanette Pinto
I have been a member of the D.F. for the past 5 years or more. The Chai Masti session was then
held in the basement of the ADAPT building in Chembur. We were about 25 active members
then. We had a young vivacious Coordinator named Dianne Tauro who addressed every one of
us as Aunty or Uncle, and who brought much life into the activities. This I suppose made us feel
like one big family. I enjoyed all the activities as per the schedule.
Over the years I have seen more new members join, and now our Dignity Recreation Center
seems to be bursting at its seams. The hall in the same building is a vibrant place full of energy
and life on most days of the week. On an average there are around 40 -50 active people
attending and participating in the various programmes. The activities are well balanced
providing all seniors to enjoy their recreation/ Chai masti time fruitfully and with much joy.
Some enjoy playing cards or board games, while some may even just sit and chat. There is
excellent participation at the Birthday celebration of members and at the different festival
celebrations. Some of the ladies put in much effort to revive tradition in a creative way.
What is good about Chai Masti is that there is a physical routine, as well as a social platform for
members to participate or even make new friends. There is fun, laughter and friendship galore. A
couple of interesting talks too have been arranged. The atmosphere is very enervating and the
cuppa tea and an occasional snack complete the evening. Some brain games, book/ social issue
discussions, or perhaps short local outings would be welcome. Picnics have been fun too. Our
present Coordinator Darshna is a lady who has a pleasant nature and is encouraging and
motivating in her approach. She sees to it that all are having a good time, and also actively
involves and participates in the various activities.
Personally I enjoy most sessions and would not miss an opportunity to be present at the Chai
Masti every day. I have learnt Tai Chi, which I had no knowledge of. The Aerobics and the Yoga
sessions provide me with the necessary physical exercise. I also enjoy the birthday bashes with
the fun games and the camaraderie. From the social angle D.F. has provided me with the
opportunity to appreciate the gift of life and friendship of the elderly. More power to Dignity
Chai Masti- Chembur!
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Kadambari Joshi (72), Coordinator
I manage the Powai centre with 100 plus
members from its inception in 2013. It is
very enriching to see people coming with
personal emotional baggages but slowly and
steadily lighting up. Ours is a very energetic
group with lots of in-house activity through
the week. Almost each month we get away
to exotic places such as Bhutan, Dubai,
Haridwar, Mt Abu, Daman to name a few.
Personally, having retired as a teacher in
Kendra Vidyalaya after 40 year stint, it
seems to me I am having a fresh crop of
second inning children one hundred of them!
Says Dignitarians Amita Mehta
I joined the CM Powai right at the start.
From a lonely status, now I am full of friends
from all walks of life. My granddaughter is
actually jealous of me as my WhatsApp does
not stop ringing. She says ‘Granny’ you have
so many friends!!!” Really the Powai centre
has brought a big change in my life and I
look forward to going to the centre each
evening, to the extent that I won the ‘Most
Regular’ award in the recently concluded 2nd
Anniversary Party of Powai centre. Besides
the fun there are also various discounts one
gets from Medical stores, Restaurants to
beauty parlours !!!
Says Dignitarian Ganesh Iyer
I joined Dignity Chai Masti Powai centre
about 18 months back. It has been greatly
enriching with new friends and a great
learning experience. I have met people from
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Navi Mumbai
Nandkumar Patil (57), Coordinator
This September I completed 8 months of my
association with D.F. With my earlier
corporate background it was entirely different
field for me even though I always wanted to do
my little bit for society. Co-ordinator
assignment came at just the right time for me
to offer services to Senior Citizens at the
Loneliness Mitigation Centre. This unique
experience has brought out my hidden
capabilities of having a good communication,
leadership skills, organising sessions and
simultaneously exercise lot of patience. The
interaction with Senior Citizens sharing of a
lot of experiences has given me an opportunity
to learn and enjoy the collective activities of
fun, fitness and recreation.
where we can share and exchange our
views, thoughts, and opinions, discuss
issues, new developments with our
intimate, open minded friends. Their
enthusiasm and the activities inspired us a
great deal to think and be energetic to do
more towards society. The activities like
Yoga, Tai Chi, Zumba, Aerobics, singing,
dancing, telling jokes, recitation and such
like keeps us physically as well as mentally
fit. We are also celebrating everyone's
birthday on a month wise basis to feel
good belonging to a group. The most
important aspect of joining here is its
contribution to make us realise that
“even” being a senior person like ourselves
we have our own importance and are
given guidance as well as all the support
that are needed which will ultimately
result in being beneficial to our country.
Says Dignitarians Gautam Goswami
Says Dignitarian Kiran Bhalla
and Rumjhum Goswami
Vashi Dignity Centre has grown from a
mere four members to 35 in a short span
of few months. We are lucky to have a
beautiful centre at New Bombay Bengali
Association. We meet for different
sessions like yoga, Zumba and Tai Chi in
addition to lectures on nutrition,
physiotherapy, Bhagwad Geeta. We had a
story telling session which was interesting
and unique. Our centre donated old
clothes to an adivasi village nearby.
My wife and I joined DF in March 2015.
I must say we have come to the right place
which we very much needed. This is the place
We recently visited Dignity Lifestyle and a
house-visit to one of the members who
turned 80. All this have brought us
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together and we look forward to making
more such visits. We sing, dance share jokes
during birthdays and this brings us closer to
one another and keeps us happy. I have
made a lot of friends and reunited with a lot
of my old friends. ‘Chai Masti’ friends have
enriched me and I look forward to having
our weekly meetings to plan for daily
programmes. Now we are gearing up for our
presentation on
1st October, 2015.
Says Dignitarian Meenakshi Kapadia
Grant Road Centre
My sister and I joined D.F. in the year 2004.
Since then we have made many friends here. We
all go together for movies, to restaurants and
also jointly celebrate each other's birthdays. By
joining ‘Chai Masti’ centre I have gained a lot of
confidence and lost all my stage fright by
participating in all activities. All the programmes
conducted here are very useful especially Tai
Chi, Yoga, Aerobics and other exercises.
Although I live far from the Centre, I come here
regularly as it gives me an opportunity to spend
my time fruitfully and happily. I have not used
the discount booklet as the places mentioned
are quite far from my residence.
Samata Kalra – Coordinator (55), Grand
Centre, Mumbai
This November it will be exactly four years
of my association with D.F. I'm at a stage
now that I am ready to convince each and
every senior citizen I pass by on the road to
become a member of D.F. and to be able to
enjoy all that it has to offer and experience
the 360° change in their lives.
I have always had a passion for senior
citizens and doing my duties as a
coordinator has been a positive outlet for
the same. Not having any idea of all that my
work would involve, I was unprepared for
the changes that have come into my
members and my own life. The biggest
advantage is the totally unconditional love
and respect from almost all of them.
I continue to be amazed at their zest for life
and untiring efforts to go on and on even if
sometimes it becomes a little difficult to do
so physically. They love picnics, parties and
joyously relive their childhood at birthday
celebrations. It is immensely satisfying to
see them bloom under appropriate guidance
and I've seen innumerable success stories
that continue to inspire me every single day.
Working with them has honed my
conversational, organisational and
leadership qualities. Interacting with them
on a daily basis has taught me to be 5Ps Precise, Practical, Patient, Progressive and
persevering in all that I do.
Dinshaw Mehta
My wife and I are a part of D.F. since the year
2010. We like coming to ‘Chai Masti’ centre
so we can participate in all the activities
conducted here. My favourite activities are
Yoga and Tai Chi. I also like meeting and
communicating with new people and sharing
experiences with each other. I have been
unable to use the discount booklet up till now.
55
• If it is good to do Outing once a while but
daily body stretching exercises is a must,
thanks to Outing and Yoga sessions
• Nobody is small or big, rich or poor, black
or white, when individual is progressing in life.
• Only aim is to enjoy life gracefully while
ageing, thanks to different games like
Bridge, Antakshari, Dumb Charade and Chess.
• Speaking frankly is good relief for stress
bursting thanks to group sessions all the time.
Versova
Ishrat Nazirkumar(74) Coordinator
20
Just as I was getting a little anxious about
having to live a lonely, almost directionless life,
a Good Samaritan introduced me to the
organisation called Dignity Foundation.
I was so taken up by its goals and objectives
that I wasted no time in seeking membership
its in 2010.
st
u
r
fT
o
s
Ye a r
Within 5 months I was asked to accept the
responsibility of being the coordinator of the
Versova branch. It has been almost five years
now and I have enjoyed every moment of it
thoroughly. I have learnt that there is no better
health therapy than having a mind that is
fruitfully occupied. When that occupation is
contributing towards the welfare of fellow
beings, even in a small measure, the result is
not really just good health but also sublime
happiness.
On the whole, D.F. converted my retired,
bored, old age life to an enjoyable and
dignified graceful life. Thanks to D.F and
Thane Chi Masti Centre.
Says Dignitrian Nayeem Khan
In August 2015, I have completed one year as
member in Versova centre. On reflection of the
past one year, I can say that this centre has
added mirth and masti in my life. After
retirement there is a gradual reduction in
contacts with old friends. The Dignity Chai
Masti Centre offered me a great platform to have
new friends on a regular basis. The programmes
from Monday to Friday between 4:00 pm to
6:00 include a variety of games, songs, yoga and
discussions on topics of interest, lectures by
experts. The members can participate as per
their choice, interests and convenience. It is an
enriching experience with knowledge addition.
Our Coordinator Ishrat Kumar is adept at
organising the members and programmes deftly.
This appealing occupation has resulted in my
taking a kind of u-turn on the road of life.
I feel much younger and rejuvenated. This is
not just true in my case, but in the case of all
of us who meet and participate in a variety of
activities offered by D.F. This is very apparent
to all when one sees the cheerful, glowing
countenance of the members.
Loneliness, which is the bane of most lives at
this stage, has been given a go-bye here. We
have struck new and lasting friendships with
people who understand our needs at this stage.
I have learnt that biological age is not of much
importance; it is the mental or psychological
age that really counts. Dignity has given me
that understanding; that invaluable gift. Our
chief objective or motto could be interpreted
as: “Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah: Sarve Santu
NiraamayaahSarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu Maa
Kashchit-Dukha-Bhaagbhavet.”
In the childhood days, we played in the evenings
with friends for physical development. In this
second childhood, we play with new friends for a
healthy mind and a healthier body. This social
get-together platform keeps the seniors
entertained and healthy. They also organise
picnics. In today’s fast paced life, where other
members of the nuclear families have no time
for senior citizens or where some have lost their
life- partners, the Centre has a lot to offer to
alleviate the loneliness and make life happier
and healthier. Surely, the D. F. Chai-Masti
Centres are a boon for the health and happiness
of Senior Citizens. I suggest that there should
be at least two such inter-centre get-togethers
organised in a year. This will enhance better
interaction between members of all Dignity Chai
Masti Centres in Mumbai.
Let all be happy; Let all be healthy; Let all be
safe; Let no one ever suffer from sorrow
My little endeavour towards that objective in
turn keeps me happy, healthy, safe and ever
cheerful. Thank you, Dignity for gifting dignity
to our lives.
56
Thane
Shubha Kamrishi (34) Coordinator
It almost 32 Months since I joined. The
experience is very enriching; I have seen a
different side of life here. People say life comes
to an end after retirement but I have
experienced that life starts after retirement.
Thanks to DF for providing me this
opportunity.
Working with Senior citizens is very rich
experience, you can learn lot about life from
them, at this age, the kind of enthusiasm they
bring peps up our own energy and equip us
with an understanding to resolve problem easily.
Says Dignitarian Swadesh Marwah
I had a very busy and fruitful life in the bank
but after retirement I suddenly found myself
very lonely, dull and nothing to look forward
to. It was God’s grace that I was advised and
persuaded by my friend to join D.F. Chai
Masti at Thane. It was one of the best
happenings in the later part of my life. The
Dignity forum has given me the much needed
confidence and chance to express myself,
revive my hobbies such as reading,
embroidery, cooking and to have a good
discussions on current topics of the day. Now
I am happy, more cheerful and enjoy life to
the fullest and in the way I love. Hence I look
forward to more new activities and event for
the senior citizens in the years to come. I
thank God for making a great part of this
beautiful organisation: D.F.
To start with, I found it a little difficult to
match up with senior citizens thought processes
and to understand them well, but thanks to the
Team they have helped me learn things fast ,
and now we all work as one big family where
we have our own roles to play but all to enjoy
to its fullest. Qualities which I have learnt to
practice here are patience, time management,
communication, dealing with issues related to
human psychology, and all these have helped in
making me as a better and confident person.
Says Dignitarian Raja Ram Swadi
I am now more proud as Dignitarian then as
senior citizen because of following:
• I Understand now philosophy as good as
technology and realise both are important
in life, thanks to Bhagwad Gita sessions
57
Pune
Vaishali Desai,
Hon. Coordinator, Kalyani Nagar
Ahmedabad
organised programmes with the day full of
fun. For the two hours at the Centre, we all
forget our home too. The Centre has been so
closely bonded and people are attached to
each other like a family. The only tension I
have is how to spend Saturdays and Sundays
and pass the weekend without my friends
since Centre works only 5 days a week.
Exactly one year ago, I took charge of the newly formed
Kalyani Nagar centre. Since then,
my life has changed for better in ways I never imagined.
My husband and I moved from Mumbai to Pune, and I did
not have a friend’s circle of my own in this city. I was feeling
depressed sitting at home -- wanting to find what and how I
can use my time and energy. As a boon, and by chance, I met
Dr. Sheilu Sreenivasan, and she trusted me and handed over
the responsibility of starting a new centre in Pune.
In the process of starting this new centre, and organising different programmes for Chai Masti,
I met so many people from all walks of life, that I had no time to think or worry about
utilising my time for a cause! All the people I met, they have enriched my life in many ways.
The guests at Chai Masti, the members of DF - all have given so much love to me that I do not
miss my children anymore!
Now our Chai Masti centre has become like a family. In this one year, we have spent so many
great moments together that now we can't imagine our lives without one another.
We understand the needs, emotions and feelings for each other. Feel more close to Dignity
friends, with whom we can share all our feelings! Each one wants to do something or the other
for our group, and it's such a good feeling. It’s very hard to make so many friends in a new
city, especially at this age, but thanks to D.F, I found my happiness. We, all the members of
Kalyani Nagar, have vowed to be together and for each other till the end!
20
Madhvi Mehta - Social Worker and
Coordinator of Chai Masti centres
It’s a point of great pride for me that within
a year, we have garnered more than 100
members. Physically we reached out to more
than 2000 individuals; 500 persons had
attended our different programmes; more
than 50 individuals had been counseled
through our Helpline support. From day one
Ahmedabad Chapter had started to take steps
in the direction of collecting funds to become
self reliant. My vision for the future is to open
5 centres in areas such as Paldi, Ranip/ Vadaj,
Maninagar, Navrangpura, Bopal.
Says Dignitarian Bhadresh Vora
I have been coming to the satellite Chai Masti
Centre from day one (Dec 8th onwards) and
I have not missed any session till date.
My friends at the centre tell me that I am a
very good singer as well as a good Tabla player.
After my voluntary retirement from SBI I was
in search of such a group, and it’s my good
fortune I found D.F. After my wife's sudden
death I had become very lonely and sad, but
once I joined the ‘Chai Masti’ Centre I have
been able to accept her loss, and become
positive in life again. I have kept myself busy
with all the interesting lectures and
programmes. I enjoy Fridays’ programmes the
most. Now I have made so many new friends
who always care for me and make my life
worth enjoying once again.
rust
T
f
Ye a r s o
Dr. K. S. Purohit, Gastroenterologist and
speaker at 'Frontiers in Medicine', held in
February 2015, says: I like the word DIGNITY,
it is an excellent expression of what senior
citizens are; the word gives value to a person's
character. Seniors are most valuable and are
pillars of society as they can guide the younger
generation for positive achievement. D.F. is
doing an excellent service to the society.
Says Dignitarian Shrilkeha Bhatt
National Anthem by Mr V Sundaram
Key note by Chief Guest-Ms Vinita Deshmukh
58
I am a very active member of our satellite
Chai Masti Centre ever since I became a
member in April 2015. I am happy to say that
I have never missed a single day. People say I
am very good as a mimicry artist and I always
try to entertain members with her own life
experiences. I love to get involved in all the
59
Chennai
One of the recent innovative programmes is
the introduction of special interest clubs
and the involvement of members which has
taken them to a new level. We now screen
movies at our centre on a big projector
screen and Dignitarians enjoy it with tea
and snacks.
Dignitarian Experience
I was Vice President in a big private firm.
After retirement, I was lost for things to do.
I came to know about D.F. and visited their
office and started frequenting their Tehneer
Arangam at Teynampet. I have made very
good friends, learnt bridge and now share
great evenings with my peer group. Certain
programmes conducted by Dignity like the
healthcare event were useful.
G.R. Sunderamoorthy
Dhanapaul Arumgham, Coordinator of
all ‘Tehneer Arangam’ in Chennai
By organising a variety of Tehneer Arangam
programmes, I have had the opportunity to
network with many resource persons and feel
proud and happy to have been instrumental
in sharing their experience with Dignitarians.
I have been a member of Dignity for the
past seven years. I like all the activities of
Dignity especially tours that have been
organized for us and the special events like
the healthcare event and literary event. I
enjoyed acting in the drama and enjoy
meeting people of my age group and look
forward to all the future events. The
company and support is such a blessing in
this age! Amutha Raghavan
I feel happy that we have had lot of coverage
from the media about the events at our
Tehneer Arangam centres which in turn have
helped us in our membership drive. We have
been sending our Tehneer Arangam schedules
to members who have not renewed, who after
seeing our interesting programmes have
renewed their membership. Dignitarians call
to ask for our programme schedule if they
have missed out on it.
Goa
Preethi Pereira, Social Worker
and Co-ordinator
I still remember the time when we started our 1st
chai masti at Goa and the members had just
enrolled for the reason that they were single and
lonely with no one to look after them. Their main
concern was ‘what if any medical emergency
would come and who is going call the ambulance
for us?’ This is what they shared with me and I
could see the pain in their depressed sad eyes
with no self confidence.
But when I look at them now, I really feel proud.
I can see confidence twinkle in their eyes, they
are no more worried aboutloneliness, they have
made many friends, and I have seen a total
change as attested to in their dressing, which is
smart and cheerful. Our members get to bring
friends for sampling a few sessions, and sure
enough the next day I get a call from them about
wanting to join D.F.
I know each and every member personally now
and feel happy to see how they have changed and
I see them living their life to the fullest. This
I feel is my gain and satisfaction.
Says Dignitarian Elizabeth Rodrigues
I complete 7 months of my membership with D.F.
I remember the day I was invited for ‘Frontiers in
Medicine programme’ hosted by Dignity. That’s
when I first got associated with Dignity and the
‘Chai Masti’. I always look forward to joining the
next ‘Chai Masti’. I like the simplicity of the
members and I like to meet them, hear
memorable moments of their life and share mine.
I always use to think that I have a problem in
dealing with old age, but when I met the ‘chai
Courtallam Trip
60
Pongal
61
masti’ group, I could see that everyone has their
own problem but were still living life to the
fullest. I too developed the positive attitude, zest
for life. I learnt how to stay fit and not to ever
worry about old age. Now I know old age is just
a number. Members of our Chai Masti group
have developed a mutually supportive mind set,
and we would like to share this with other
chapter members.
Ajith Gupchup
My father expired in Dec 2000 and this came as a
great shock to all of us. Mother never really got
over it. She would brood throughout the day and
pour her heart out to anybody who would come to
visit her. After a while people stopped coming to
our house and the relatives too would rarely call.
Four years had passed and she had come to stay
with me in Mumbai. She had become a very
lonely woman and had almost forgotten to smile.
Nothing would make her happy and we at home
were just not able to make her comfortable. At this
point in time I remembered having attended a talk
on the D.F. I called up the organisation helpline
and explained the situation. In two days time we
had two counsellors visiting us. They sat for a
good hour and half and promised to come again
the following week. Their visits helped and Mom
became a little cheerful. I was really impressed.
I stopped working at the age of 65 and around
July 2014 I joined the Goa chapter of the D.F.…
I ached to give something back to the society. The
good deed done by the D.F. at Mumbai had
motivated me. What I like about the ‘Chai Masti’
is that we can be ourselves! There is nothing to
gain or lose so the need to impress anyone is not
there, so automatically you have no mask to
wear. The most important thing I’ve learnt is that
there is no one in this world without problems!
Pune
DIGNITY
HELPLINE
We connected them to an MD (Psychiatry),
from their panel and enquired if he could
treat the patient. After receiving his
confirmation, we passed on the Doctor’s
contact details and address to the Client’s
daughter. The daughter said that her father
responded well to the medication and he slept
well for 2 or 3 days. However, oversleeping
became a problem and after a number of
difficulties in treatment lasting several days,
the patient finally settled down with regular
sleep and medication routine after doctor’s
intervention. The Client’s family was
appreciative of the efforts taken by DF to find
solutions to a complicated situation arising
out of doctor’s unavailability.
CASE 1:
Non receipt of Voters ID card and name
missing from Voters’ list problem
The client (woman -- 62.) called to register
her complaint that she had not received her
voter’s card though she submitted the required
Form 6 at her constituency in Pune District
well in time. She was not allowed to vote even
though she had her old voters ID issued from
her old constituency, where she stayed
previously. She had approached practically
everyone who was election authorities,
including her friends but none could help.
Finally, she approached our Helpline. The
Dignity Helpline volunteer went online to the
Maharashtra Chief Election Officer’s website
and searched. The search was successful and
the information about the Client’s voter ID
card was displayed online including
Constituency, Voting Centre, the client’s serial
number in the voting list and most important
the Voter’s ID number.
CASE 3:
Psychological support to overcome
loneliness
Since the client had additionally complained
that she had not received her Voter ID card, DF
phoned up the Election helpline and obtained
the information that the Client
could collect her Voter’s Card from the local
Talathi’s office, which too was passed onto her.
Day 1 to Day 14: Client had to make couple of
visits to the Talathi’s and other offices before
they could locate her Voter’s Card and she got
it finally. She thanked DF profusely.
How Many Older Adults Did Helpline Help?
CASE 2:
During the 12 months Helpline Counselors answered 8,943 calls from Older Adults asking
Needed reference of Doctor to treat
Dementia patient
directly for help, advice and protection. About 290 of these used our crisis counseling one-toone, including email counseling services, personal visits to the home of the clients, and
thousands received trusted information on the website's several sections and queries
responded to. The good news in Helpline services is that the new segments of below-thepoverty level elders also were enabled to access due to the monthly workshops organised from
March onwards. .
62
The client’s (Male 86 years) daughter called to
get the reference of a doctor to treat her father
who was a Dementia patient. Of late he was
not sleeping and just sits for most of the time.
The caregivers were finding it difficult to
manage. She was seeking a Doctor, who could
treat her father and resolve the problem.
63
The client’s (Male. 74 years) called on Pune
helpline and narrated his feeling about DF &
also talked about the phase which he has
going through. He explained about his
loneliness and related issues. He was totally
depressed when he first time called on the
helpline. He is staying as PG (paying guest)
close to our office. Due to loneliness he has
no desire to live. We took him into our chai
masti sessions daily, giving him a chaperon
support to come and go.
We counseled him about mingling with other
members which will help him to come out of
the negative feelings. Almost for one week he
attended CM activities and we could see the
difference in his health. One of DF helpline
volunteer helped him to seek treatment for
his physical and mental health issues. His
health improved gradually. He started to visit
DF every day and participate in all activities.
He is happy and has found friends at DF.
Many of our regular members are supporting
him to get engaged with activities and
discussions.
Chennai
Soon the entire family situation improved.
Daughter in law suddenly experienced positive
change in her mother in law’s behaviour and
peace soon settled in after her husband’s
treatment. These changes had reduced the
daughter in law’s possession episodes
Mumbai
Dhanapaul Arumgham, Social Worker
Thilagavathy and husband (60 and 65) from
Vellore approached us with the problem of
sons; working in the Army is not looking after
them. Social Worker helped the client to send
a petition to the higher ups in the Army. The
latter responded favourably and apportioned
4000/ per month out of the son’s salary to be
sent to them directly for their monthly
maintenance. The clients were very happy.
Case2
Devika (62) from Valasaravakkam called our
helpline. Paul Vannan was her son and
Samira, her daughter. Paul got married and
settled in Hyderabad. Samira was not married,
working in a company. Samira got into a love
affair, strongly resented by mother. Due to this
frequent quarrels were taking place. I decided
counseling would benefit both of them.
Accordingly advised both and few session’s
situation improved tremendously.
Case 3
Balan from Mogapour called and shared about
his problem. He underwent treatment at
Ramachandra Hospital for his dental problem.
They wrongly removed his good teeth instead
of the affected ones. Regarding this he wanted
a complaints letter against concerned doctor.
Our Legal counsel helped him draft a letter to
the management of Ramachandra Hospital.
Balan gave the letter to Dr. S. Elangkumaran
after which the management called him and
gave a free treatment to the affected tooth.
Unresolved cases
Jaya, 60 years, a widow from Adayar
approached us. Her son died six months ago
by committing suicide. She has two
grandsons and her daughter-in- law Rani is a
teacher. As Jaya realised that her daughter-inlaw is having an extra marital relationship,
64
and felt threatened, and feared that
ultimately her grandsons would be neglected.
She wanted to take away the grandsons,
against the wishes of her daughter-in-law.
Jaya came to our office and met our
Advocate. Our Advocate advised that as per
law, mother is the natural guardian for both
the minor sons and hence law did not permit
the grandmother to take the children. The
case was explained to Jaya, and asked to
reconcile with reality. Nothing much could be
done.
Alagesan (72) living in Porur approached us.
He served as a civilian in Defence for some
8 years. Due to eye sight problem, he took
leave and came to Chennai. After that he did
not report back for duty. He wanted to know
whether he can get pension from the Army.
WE made enquiries and found out that the
person should serve for a minimum period of
10 years and hence Alagesan is not eligible
for the same. Alagesan then wanted to apply
for mercy petition to the President of India.
There hangs the case.
Bengaluru
Sandhya S.N
An elder of 80 years came to our office at 6pm
one day saying his son who is mentally
challenged for the past 40 years, and is
missing, and does not know how to go about
finding him. We arranged for Police
intervention and in 24 hours reunited the
family.
In our Vijayanagar Chavadi Coordinator Suma
consoled a 70 years lady who was suffering
from family abuse to live on her own with her
son’s help for her routine maintenance. Now
the lady says that this could not have
happened if not our intervention.
Bhavana Kapadia, Social Worker
Gangutai Shelar (67) was physically healthy
with severe hearing impairment. She is
resident of a slum in Gotalia village, at
Chembur. She is a widow with two sons and
two daughters, all married. Both the
daughters and one son are settled. She stays
with her younger son in a small hut built in
the midst of the vegetable market. Her son is
married and has six daughters and one son.
He is a rickshaw driver, daily wage earning of
Rs.150. He is an alcoholic with problems of
paranoia.
Daughter in law wants to admit her girls to
Ashram school for further studies. We are
waiting for vacancy.
Ahmedabad
Gangutai was referred to D.F by the Chembur
Police station. She had bruises on her hands
and face when she came to register her
complaints. Her major complaints were
physical and verbal abuse by her daughter in
law. Due to her hearing impairment it was
extremely difficult to communicate with her.
She was not able to give even her correct
address. She wanted her son and his family
to vacate the home and be allowed to live in
peace.
I made a home visit to assess the situation. It
surfaced actually it was our own client who
was the abuser, and ill treated her daughter in
law, whose famished and dilapidated health
condition bore testimony to the abuse. All
the seven kids resembled their mother in
terms of health. She had developed mental
illness. I also found the son needed deaddiction treatment and got him admitted at
a Govt hospital nearby. Series of counseling
sessions were done with the client and her
daughter in law. After the counseling sessions
the intensity and frequency of quarrels
reduced between the two.
Client was explained that she should allow
her son and his family to live in her hut. Her
daughter in law was counseled against
abusing her mother in law. Treatment
processes revealed the son was getting better.
65
Yogendrabhai (84) had retired as a Post
Master. He has a son and five daughters. He
had left his wife 20 years ago, who now stays
with his son. He shifted to Ahmedabad about
2 years ago. He has his own house in Jivaraj
Park area, which is illegally possessed by his
divorced daughter. She has filed case against
her father about ownership of the house. The
case is running in Mirazapur court for the past
2 years. With no relief, he claims that
presently he stays on the road.
We had a meeting with the advocate, who had
wanted more details which our Volunteer
Desai fetched for us; but due to client not
revealing all the facts but hiding the same, and
on account of the fact that he was actually
staying with his sister and not on the road,
this was a bad case and the client also refused
to cooperate with advice. We could not do
much with the case despite our trying to find
facts from a variety of sources.
Dharmishta Bhatt (61).The Chairman and
Secretary of her housing society was harassing
her by stopping her water supply for more
than 11 months, they forced her to do repairs
to her bathroom and the drainage line for
more than five times. She needed police
support, so we were advised to approach the
Mahila Police who promptly spoke with the
society members. The problem remains solved.
Dharmishta Bhatt became member of D.F and
enjoys daily sessions at the Chai Masti centre.
in our office and distribute to the
beneficiaries on the first of each month.
Office space was blocked up with storage of
such groceries for over a week, which turned
out to be a Herculean task working on the
2nd Floor of a building in Byculla. When
Localbanya.com offered to deliver at the
door step of the poor old, not only our work
but the elderly themselves do not have to
struggle anymore carrying some 25 to 30
kgs back home from our office. I applaud
the service mentality of this online stores
says Dr. Sheilu Sreenivasan
Ration Supplies
Ration Supplies and
Knowledge Workshops
for BPL Elderly
(below the poverty level)
From 2002 this project has been in vogue.
The credit goes to Neha Shah, then Social
Worker, for taking the initiative to start this
project. Refinement through the years has
seen a near-perfect, hassle free distribution of
rations to poor people.
Localbanya.com, a premier online
convenience store, joined hands with D.F. in
delivering rations. As part of this
partnership, Localbanya has taken on the
responsibility of helping the Foundation with
our procurement needs and providing the
necessary logistics support to arrange
deliveries in a timely fashion.
Apart from a number of individual
donations, we owe our grateful thanks to
donors: Give India, the estate of Late Smt.
Bhadra Ranjitlal Sukhadwala, and Ramal
Charities.
D.F. provides Localbanya with a list of
grocery items required to run our programme
on a monthly basis which is then in turn
sourced and delivered to the poor at their
doorstep. We pay a subsidised rate for the
various items while Localbanya picks up the
cost of delivery. Every month over 120 senior
citizens are benefited across Mumbai.
Knowledge Workshops for
the Poor Old in Slums
Sponsored by
National Stock Exchange
Commenting on this initiative by
Localbanya, Rashi Choudhary, Co-Founder
said, “The basis of the partnership is the
belief of both the organisations that our
elders should not have to struggle for basic
needs and have a right to healthy living.
We are very happy to associate ourselves
with D.F. and help them in our way to make
a difference in the lives of elderly who are
struggling to make ends meet. In future,
we would also like to extend this initiative to
other cities like Delhi, Pune and Hyderabad
where we have a presence.” She further adds,
“Apart from helping the senior citizens
through the NGO, we have the noticed a
trend where kids staying in different cities or
abroad order groceries and other items online
for their parents in India. It’s really pleasing
to see such orders come in.”
Known by the title Integrated Social
Support and Health Security For The
Elderly in Mumbai and Chennai, the
National Stock exchange headquartered in
Mumbai adopted it as part of their CSR
outreach programme. According to Dr.
Sheilu Sreenivasan ‘Even to serve the poor
is not an opportunity one can easily get in
life, except as a grace from above” is an oft
repeated dictum I have heard as a child.
Twenty full years after the setting up of D.F
to be now endowed with this sort of an
opportunity to dedicate ourselves to the
cause of very poor senior citizens is the
news I want to share with you all. The
National Stock Exchange (NSE)
headquartered in Mumbai has selected our
Project for sponsorship that will enable us
to undertake a Programme of Action for the
Elderly Poor in the Slums of Mumbai and
Chennai”. These two cities have been
selected by NSE. In a process lasting two
Prior to the above arrangement, we were
struggling with bringing such huge quantities
of grains and cereals each month, store them
66
67
years we would empower 16,800 poor senior citizens in these two cities. “Life is not a matter
of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well” is my personal view. And we chugged
along all these years with whatever resources one found along the way. Now with this new
enablement for establishing newer milestones in the growth history of our Foundation we
hope to intensify the new direction that has opened up.
Rationale for the Action Programme
The key problems faced by poorer senior citizens are:
• Financial insecurity
• Health related problems
• Loneliness
• Elder abuse
• Impediments to mobility
These aspects lead to loneliness, depression, suicidal tendencies even while living with adult
children. Among competing economic pressures of the working class children, on whom the
elderly poor are dependent, a sense of fear, insecurity and final disempowerment if they opted
to speak up about their impoverished and neglected conditions result in real disempowerment
sooner than later. While the smaller children of the adult children receive priority over the
needs of the “oldies”, a highly sensitive and subtle inequilibrium develops in the enjoyment
of scarce comforts at home. The senior citizen is finally driven to live on the fringes of the
family structure. His/her awareness about laws, policies and support programmes of the Govt
and other large bodies is very low.
Empowering senior citizens with basic awareness and gifting them with various services
already in existence at D.F came to be seen as the most important act we could undertake, but
with funding support.
Four poorer and congested localities in Mumbai ( BDD Chawl Worli, Dharavi, Jogeshwari
East and Sion East Transit Camps) and two in Chennai ( Kannagi Nagar and Saidapet) were
selected for our action programme. One Coordinator for each Locality was appointed. Five
Volunteers in each of the 6 Localities were also appointed. An exclusive Project Manager at
the head office in Mumbai was also appointed.
The Intervention Programme
The intervention in each locality would be structured as talk sessions and workshops. The
topics that would be covered through these workshops would be as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Financial Awareness and Financial Inclusion
Health and Hygiene awareness sessions
Awareness about government schemes and benefits
Awareness about NGO programmes for senior citizens
Senior Citizens ID card programme in Maharashtra
Awareness about Alzheimer’s / Dementia
Awareness about rights and legal recourse available for senior citizens
Beside the sessions / workshops on the above topics there would be
additional activities such as:
1. Health Camps on general medical health, vision, hearing, etc.
2. Provision of cataract detection, referrals, surgeries and follow-ups
3. Distribution of medicines and aides such as walking sticks, spectacles, hearing aids, etc.
4. Workshop on skill development for earning livelihood for the able bodied
5. Distribution of basic ration to the very poor
6. Cultural programmes and intergenerational activities
68
69
Senior citizens are very insecure about their
health. However, given the high cost of
healthcare, they tend to ignore a problem till it
becomes large and critical. A regular health check
up can help tremendously in identifying
problems early enough so that it can be treated.
The objective of health camp is to provide a
battery of tests free to senior citizens so that
they are able to benefit from this preventive
healthcare. Investigations like blood sugar, blood
pressure, hearing test and consultation facilities
for Medicine, Eye, ENT, General Surgery, Dental,
Dietetics & Nutrition and Ortho will be offered
free of cost during the proposed health camps.
Before the yearend 6 workshops were held in
Mumbai and Chennai.
Corporate Calling and
Social Media
With the increasing visibility being given in the
media about the CSR (Corporate Social
Responsibility) companies are looking for
funding projects of their choice in the
development sector. D.F appointed a senior
executive in February 2015 to take care of this
aspect of fund mobilisation. As of March 31,
2015 some 20 companies have been presented
with Proposals outlining the social significance of
undertaking the projects. The impact of this
effort will be seen in FY 2015-16.
In the context of companies’ participation in the
social programmes of not-for-profits, of late a
term doing the rounds is ‘Slacktivism’ which is a
portmanteau of the words (linguistic blend of
words) ‘slacker’ and ‘activism’. The word is
usually considered a pejorative term that
describes "feel-good" measures, in support of an
issue or social cause, that have little physical or
practical effect, other than to make the person
doing it feel satisfied that they have contributed.
Slacktivism can be defined as the act of showing
support for a cause but only truly being
beneficial to the egos of people participating in
this so-called activism. The acts tend to require
minimal personal effort from the slacktivist.
The underlying assumption is more like low-cost
70
efforts being substituted for more
substantive actions.
Be that as it may, like many other websites
and news platforms who have integrated
social media sites such as Facebook and
Twitter into their interface, allowing people
to easily "like", "share" or "tweet" about
something interesting they saw on the
Internet, D.F has also been increasingly
addressing the need to attract the young
working in companies through these popular
media. People can now express concern
about ageing issues posted by D.F. in
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, with
nothing more than the click of a mouse,
raising the question of what is actually being
accomplished by these "likes" when very little
thought or effort is required.
Despite such armchair activism and
limitations of the people wanting to look
socially good in the eyes of peers, a good
amount of posturing has been undertaken by
D.F in the social media, in keeping with
times and media practices. The now famous
ice bucket challenge was taken as emblematic
of “slacktivism,” the derisive term described
above, for cheap ways to feel good without
doing anything meaningful. For example, the
one-day–in-a-year volunteerism of employees
who come to D.F and its locational activities
can be compared to Internet campaigns such
as the Stop Kony movement and the ice
bucket challenge as merely symbolic ways for
“young narcissists to preen without actually
achieving any change”.
Slacktivist activities include signing Internet
petitions, joining a community organisation
without contributing to the organisation's
efforts, copying and pasting of social
network statuses or messages or altering
one's personal data or avatar on social
network services. Research is beginning to
explore the connection between the concept
and modern activism/advocacy, as groups are
increasingly using social media to facilitate
civic engagement and collective action.
Events
Holding Events as one more relationship-building tool has been practiced most
faithfully by D.F since day one in 1995 which saw the first large mobilisation of senior
citizens for the first event in Mumbai called ‘Walk for Dignity’. From then to now, an
average of 5 to 6 events per year are held in each of the chapter cities of D.F.
Dr Cyres Mehta at Frontiers in Medicine
Ask a Question at Frontiers in Medicine
The main Events are summarised as follows:
Frontiers in Medicine
Recent advances in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases have radically altered the
quality of life for even middle class Indians. The Longevity Rule of 30-70 specifies that 30% of
ageing is genetically based. The other 70% is in our hands. We can therefore design drugs and
health supplements that might alleviate some of the deficits of having bad genes.
Innovations in medical science, especially pharmaceuticals, have shifted the focus of medicine from
highly invasive treatments and surgeries with potentially serious risks to less-invasive therapies
focused on prevention and health maintenance. This shift has allowed many older Indians to
remain healthy and independent, avoiding long hospital or nursing home stays.
As a result, generations of seniors will likely live longer, healthier, and more productive lives.
Two decades ago physicians worked to relieve patients’ symptoms while today the therapeutic
objective is to slow disease progression and aim for remission. These gradual gains have been
made through a continuous accumulation of knowledge through research and clinical experience.
In order to make such knowledge available for members, the idea of holding a two day Conference
occurred to us. To demonstrate we are not partial to allopathic medicine, we also dedicate a full day
to other forms of health care. Together the two days bring to members vital information and cutting
edge awareness in the modern treatments of diseases specific to senior citizens.
In Bengaluru, Himalaya Drugs and Pharmaceuticals as well as Narayana Hrudayalaya have lent
crucial support to our chapter. In Kolkata similarly a number of health care companies have joined
hands. Physicians and non-allopathic practitioners have generously shared their time to address
senior citizen members, and we owe them all our sense of immense gratitude.
71
Dignity Literary Festival
Each year, in commemoration of the
anniversary of magazine Dignity Dialogue -India’s first magazine for senior citizens -- we
happily celebrate its birthday in the presence
of celebrities we have profiled in the magazine
and honour all authors and contributors of the
year by calling them to stage and recognizing
the literary talents.
I believe each one of us has a place under this
benevolent Sun….whether you have completed
6o/70/80 years the uniqueness of each one of
you is the process we call in Psychology as
“individuation”. Each year as you keep
accumulating various responses to stimuli in
the environment, you keep becoming more
and more a unique individual. The older you
are the more unique you become. It is this
uniqueness that we aim to capture in
magazine Dignity Dialogue, by immortalising
your experience as a person in this cosmos.
Those who write are enabled into this process
of immortality, and those who don’t write, but
read what others write are adding yet more
experiences into one’s individuality. Thus a
continuous process of enrichment is what we
have set in motion, and considering the fact
this is going on since our inception in 1995
there is a need to celebrate the moment. It is
when we celebrate anything with people who
have achieved and reached the pinnacle of
creativity, that we find newer meanings in
the world around us. For this reason great
achievers are profiled in the magazine.
“Go, go out of the closets,” said Picasso, “go
into the museums, libraries, architectural
monuments, concert halls, bookstores,
recording studios and film studios.” Seek
inspiration at any cost, by virtue or by vice,
by friend or by fiend, by prayer or by wine...
urged Ralph Emerson.
We at Dignity Dialogue made this our
singular mission and in each successive
issue, over the past 20 years we brought in a
rich variety of people who are unique, whose
lives provide plentiful insights. How can we
ever not remember our authors, thinkers,
critiques, performers, speakers, orators,
social workers, spiritualists, compassionate
persons who have embellished the
magazine’s cover month after month?
AD Guru K V Sridhar and Asha Lal, COO, D.F
Campaign for Dignity
One or our distinguished authors, Lalita Kodikal who has been writing
since 1995 for the magazine sent us this poem for the occasion.
I quote:
One day we will depart
On a Journey free of cost.
Don’t worry about Seat
Reservation
It’s confirmed.
And the Flight is always on time
Our good deeds done will be our luggage
Humanity will be our passport
Love will be our Visa!
Make sure we do our best
To Travel to Heaven in Business Class!
In 2015 we saw 150 creative young teams
pour their emotions to paper and picture to
showcase how endearing older Adults are:
how it’s the duty of the young to look after
the older adults, ‘how little things that
count’; ‘ Wanted, Lost Missing the daughter
I taught to read’; new word formations:
Ignoparent, Granservant, Old-digger,
Desolage; Boomerang….What goes around
comes around; Pets for Sale; What’s your
Excuse; 15 minutes can make a day; Don’t
deserve Indignity; Main Kaun Hota Hoon?;
It’s never too late…………. The world of
creativity has put a permanent closure to the
erroneous thinking among the old that the
young do not care.
For the 2nd year in succession, in Mumbai
we held this very brainy event called
Campaign for Dignity that should have been
held in March 2015 but got postponed to
September 14th 2015.
.
For those of us working with older adults, it
is a common realisation that old people ache
for their young. The Older Adults are sad and
grieved that the young do not care of them.
That the disturbance in the joint family
system in India has thrown out the older
adults to fend for themselves without any
support, succour. That the young do not care.
Here comes Campaign India, the sensitive
print media representing the world of
advertisements to demonstrate the exact
opposite reality. Their 2014 Contest showed
how deeply sensitive the young in India are.
72
In February this year when Campaign India
came forward with the idea to hold the
second annual event Campaign for Dignity
73
2015 the entire team at D.F. jumped with joy. Here again we have a spanking new exhibition to
go to town with, to the colleges and school portals to showcase how dear our parents are and
how we should take care, protect, respect the deep dignity there is in every parental heart.
as Gero Counselors to listen to the callers’
problems and offer counseling support to
them. Pune Chapter celebrated World Elders
Day on Nov 12th with re-launch of DIGNITY
HELPLINE with Gero Counselors taking over
the management of the Helpline. Similarly,
Kolkata and Bengaluru chapters will host the
World Elders Day with meaningful activities.
International Day
of Older Persons 2014-15
The crowning glory of this year’s event is Prasoon Joshi’s very special tribute to Older Adults
and his chairmanship of the Jury that made the selections. I convey my deeply felt gratitude to
his generosity. The poem is to be recited by him at our forthcoming event on October 1, 2015 in
Mumbai.
To Suresh Ramakrishnan, CEO of Campaign India we owe our special appreciation for
continuing this year’s contest. The Managing Editor, Gokul Krishnamoorthy -- imbued, troubled
and overwhelmed with emotional dues to his elders -- has patiently put up with our perennial
nudge. This year he initiated the idea of expanding the scope of the contest by inviting young
film makers and radio spot creators to send entries for the Contest. The application of their
medium Campaign India to announce the contest and involve the staff in Campaign for Dignity
is something we are very proud of – lending dignity to Dignity.
To Ramesh Narayan and Gokul Krishnamoorthy as part sponsors of this
event we owe our special thanks.
At the end what I would like to stress upon is
the fact that while the nation celebrates the
contributions of the elderly, the elderly owe it
to themselves to take charge of their lives and
cultivate what in Psychology is called Ego
Integrity (versus despair) that is, coming to
terms with one’s life, accepting conditions
when the older person feels whole, complete,
and satisfied with their achievements. That
you have adapted to inevitable victories and
disappointments. You realise that the paths
you followed or gave up, were all necessary
for a meaningful life course.
October 1 marks the International Day of the
Elderly. During the entire month all senior
citizen associations, including D.F. celebrate,
remember and recognise the role of our elders
within our community. This year’s theme as
declared by the UN is “Leaving No One Behind:
Promoting a Society for All" is the theme used
internationally to commemorate this day.
Different city chapters of commemorated the
Day differently.
Ahmedabad was the first city chapter to start
off the celebrations by launching the key
event of Suraksha Bandhan. This event was
first conceived by us in 2001 for sensitising
school children so that they do not indulge in
Elder Abuse when they grow up. To launch
the event of Suraksha Bandhan. I had taken
35 Chief Dignitarians from all over India in
2001 to meet the President of India Shri
Abdul J Kalam who was very happy with a
Dignitarians grandchild child who tied the
Suraksha Bandhan band and took the vow “I
shall protect your security with Dignity”. It is
our fond hope that if we as members of D.F.
year after year go to schools during October
to remind them of their duty to take care of
their parents and other elders in society, they
will remember it after they grow old.
The capacity to view one’s life in the larger
context of all humanity contributes to the serenity
and contentment that accompany integrity. Ego
integrity, in turn, is associated with more:
favorable psychological well-being,
a more upbeat mood,
greater self-acceptance,
higher marital satisfaction,
closer relationships with adult children,
greater community involvement, and
increased ease in accepting help from others
when it is needed
To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful,
kindly, cheerful, and reverent -- that is to
triumph over old age. To know how to grow old
is the master work of wisdom, and one of the
most difficult chapters in the great art of living.
I end with Deepak Chopra’s oft quoted
statement: Most people think that ageing is
irreversible and we know that there are
mechanisms even in the human machinery
that allow for the reversal of ageing, through
correction of diet, through anti-oxidants,
through removal of toxins from the body,
through exercise, through yoga and breathing
techniques, and through meditation.
Chennai chapter celebrated the day on
October 11th with competitions for children
and enactment of Suraksha Bandhan on
stage. Preceding this they held a Legal
Discussion on Elder Abuse by eminent Judges
and advocates as anecdotal evidence in the
chapter. The chapter also re-launched
DIGNITY HELPINE by dedicating themselves
74
75
Govt of Maharashtra
ID Cards to Senior Citizens
Total Forms received for the card issuance: 11, 600
Total Cards issued: 10,300
Total number of Application Issuing Centres: 27 in Mumbai
No. of Old Centres: 21
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Dementia Centres
In Mumbai and Chennai where we run day care centres, this year also
we continued our services to older adults afflicted with dementia. In
both the cities the pickup vans became old while in Mumbai we had to
dispose off the van, in Chennai the van is doing its last year probably
before it becomes totally unserviceable. Apart from the routine
neither centre saw anything new. In Mumbai the number had gone
done to a mere 14 people and Chennai some 9 people in all.
of New Centres Opened: 6 in Mumbai
Versova, (Church of our Lady of Health)
Chembur Naka (Shree Kutchi Jain Mandal)
Andheri (E), (Sai Wadi, Datt Mandir)
Malad (E),
Malad (W), (Malvani)
At Abhydaya Bank premises
Number of Centre closed : 3
Mobile Camp conducted during the year: 12
1
Goregaon Mall
2
Chita Camp (Chembur)
3
Lokhandwalla (Andheri)
4
Ghatkopar
5
Vikroli
6
Matunga (Ruparel Collage)
7
Gorai (Gavthan)
8
Malad (E), (Ganesh Mandir)
9
Malpa Dongri (Andheri E)
10 Deli Road (Har har wala Bldg)
11 Marol (Bamandaya Pada)
12 Masjid Bandar
13 Dongri
DDC Bus patients getting in
DDC carrom another
State Centres
New centres opened: 7
Total no. of centres in the state of Maharashtra 132
20
Total no of application Forms issued: 16,900
ust
f Tr
Ye a r s o
Total no of Cards issues: 18,686 (including last year’s backlog)
76
77
Financial Performance
We commence our financial information with details of donations received with
grateful thanks during the FY 2014-15.
Only those names appear here who have donated Rs. 10,000 and more.
Individual Donations
Donor Name
Mrtyunjaya
Shevanthi G. K. Rao
Kuldip Balasia
Prem Prakash Yadav
Gobind V. Hiranandani
Krishna Rao
Huzan Jal Khodaiji
Vimal C Kamath
Aakash Moondhra
Deepika Joshi
Dr. B. Lalitha Rao
Dr. Jyotsna Deo
Geeta Iyengar
Jayaram Raghavan
Josephine Coutinho
Natarajan. M
Nikunj Jhaveri
Nirmala George Mathews
Noshir M.Mistry
Perviz N. Hathidaroo
Prabhakar S.Gurjar
Rakesh Asthana
Ravindra Shantaram Gayatonde
S. Satyabhama
Sadashiv S. Rao
Shanti Suresh Lawande
Sudip Indani
Uma Krishnamurti
V.K.Doraiswami
Meena Padhye
Chandrashekhar K. Kamath
Siddharth Mankiwala
Shreevasta G
Satyamohan Sachdev
Hiren Jayesh Shah
Nirali Biren Shah
Navroz Mahudawala
Shyam Singh Tomar
Ushaben Sanghavi
Vrinda Dalmia
Christine Rose Pereira
Isshane Gupta
Vatsala Krishnadas Nayak
Madhusudan Raghavan
Ephrain Alves
Priyanka Shah
Zarine B. Merchant
Hasmukh Shah
Eva Gunilla Sachdev
Pankaj Bhatt
Kapil Dhatingan
Pradeep Mallick
Sam Rustom Pochkhanawala
Suryanarayana
Raut Shashikant Balwant
Ananya Shelter
Alvares Barretto
Kesar raj
Darius Forbes
Anuradha Shanbhag
Hiresh Wadhwani
Lalita D Gupte
Mayank R.Prasad
Mona A.Kapadia
Trishla D.Gala
Kshitish Madanmohan
Krishnamurthy
Amiita Rangnekar
Dilip Bamania
Rehana Sharifi
Jayakumar
Prathika Chary
Biren C. Shah
Manhar P.Khadawala
R. Muthulakshmi
Lakshmi Srinivasan
Uma Srinivasan
Hari Parthasarathy
Ashish Sawkar
Warner D'Silva
Shrikant Sahaukar
C.V.Ramachandran
Jayant Ravi
Jayamma
S.RAMASWAMY
Veera Nagarwala
Haroon B. Shaikh
Padma Sundaresan
Sulabha Paralkar
Raja Balasubramanian
Arnie Noshir Antia
P.H.Jokhi
Ramesh Narayan
Siddhartha Luther
Velagapudi Lakshmana Dutt
Amount
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,100
10,505
11,000
12,000
12,000
12,500
12,500
13,680
13,680
15,000
15,000
15,000
15,000
15,000
15,273
15,400
15,400
15,400
78
15,600
16,000
16,001
18,000
18,000
18,000
18,000
18,900
19,101
19,250
20,000
20,000
20,000
20,000
20,000
20,000
20,000
20,000
21,000
22,000
23,100
23,100
23,100
24,000
25,000
25,000
25,000
28,200
30,000
30,000
30,800
30,800
30,800
30,800
32,800
35,000
36,000
36,000
38,300
41,100
44,300
45,000
45,000
50,000
50,000
50,000
50,000
51,116
Abdul Aziz sharifi
Rita Sinha
R.K. Elisha
Behroze Daruwalla
Meher M. Shastri
SOUNDARAJAN
Jayashree Parthasarathy
Vijay.H.Shah
Yash A. Talpade
A Kumaraswamy
M.Miakhan
Sujatha Menon
Kamala Krishnamurthy
Farzana Fazelboy
Shubhada Govekar
Suresh Nayak Rao
Suresh Dawalbhakta
Jayashree Menon
Booma Bashyam
Dr. V. Dhananjayan
Elizabeth Reuben
Tarjani Vakil
S.Ramamurthy
Ravi Malhotra
Coomi M.Mahudawala
Gopal Srinivasan
Estate of Late Smt Bhadra
R. Sukhadwala
Sharad Wasani
Ramaswamy Raman
Sheilu Sreenivasan
Sanjay Khatau Asher
TOTAL
53,900
57,000
58,500
58,900
60,000
60,000
61,600
62,500
65,100
66,000
72,000
72,060
72,900
75,000
77,000
77,000
84,700
92,400
100,000
100,000
100,000
100,000
108,000
110,000
136,800
200,000
Standard Chartered Bank
75,000
N.A. Sportz Interactive Pvt. Ltd.
76,405
Gujarat Road & Infrastructure
Co. Ltd.
100,000
United Way of Mumbai- India
103,100
Deer Creek Intersil India Pvt. Ltd
105,000
J K Group
116,954
Crompton Greaves
Limited Corporate
340,000
United Way Worldwide - USA
631,668
Kotak Mahindra Bank
878,230
Scientific Publishing Services
1,500,000
Rajaram & Tarabai Bandekar
Charitable Trust
10,000
Shantadevi Charitable Trust
10,000
Thatikonda Vatsala Ramachandra Foundation
10,000
Bibhuti Bhushan Foundation
12,000
Singamsetty Ateend rooloo charities
12,900
Shri Balaji Charitable Trust
16,020
Nirlon Foundation Trust
21,000
Dasharath Mahadevia
Sanskrutik Sanstha
22,000
Ramprakash Podar Charitable Trust
23,250
TB Relief Association
25,000
Wales Puja Committee
25,000
Dayaram Thadhamal Shahani Trust
25,000
Mahaiashha Building Trust
25,000
Ramal Charities
25,000
Sindhu Charitable Society
25,000
Baldev and Raj Handa Foundation
100,000
Kewalram Chanrai Foundation
100,000
M.V.Subhaivah (Vellayan Trust )
100,000
Nihchal Israni Foundation
100,000
Ambashree Foundation
240,000
Sar-La Education Trust
500,000
Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation
700,000
Give India Foundation
822,841
Charities Aid Foundation
of America
978,365
Radha Mohan Mehrotra
Medical Relief Trust
1,000,000
Charities Aid Foundation India
1,155,388
National Institute of
Social Defence
1,213,800
National Stock Exchange
2,015,100
250,000
280,000
375,000
387,683
950,000
6,322,649
Corporate Grants, Donations
and Trust Donations
Donor Name
Health & Wisdom
BIB & GFO
Corner Stone Senion Service
Satyanand Hospital
OSS Technologies
Thomas Cook (India) Ltd
Sun Pharma
Arphi Electronics Pvt Ltd
The Media Ant
Probeen Porisheba
Medwell Ventures Pvt .Ltd
J.Thomas and Co Pvt Ltd
Satyanand Hospital
Old is Gold Store
Novartis India Ltd
Sudit Parekh & Co
Sundaram Mutual Funds
Nutan Nagrik Sahakari Bank
M/s.Titan
Aayushman Nature Cure Centre
Amount
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
12,000
12,000
15,000
15,000
15,680
20,000
20,000
20,000
20,000
25,000
29,400
30,000
30,450
31,000
38,000
43,005
TOTAL Corporate Donation
13,655,556
TOTAL DONATION OF BOTH
19,978,205.00
79
Computation of total
income & expenditure
Dignity
Enrichment
Programme
12%
Amount in 000's
Donations
Donations
63%
17,686
Income from other sources
4,384
Dignity Enrichment Programme
3,314
Grants received
1,886
Others
Income
INCOME:-
Income from
Others
other sources
2%
16%
Grants received
7%
616
Total Income
Others Dimentia Care
6%
3%
Grants utilisation
5%
27,885
Expenses
Charitable objectives
17,336
6,325
Medical relief
1,668
Grants utilisation
1,378
Others
Expenses
Dignity Enrichment Program
750
Total Expenses
27,458
Net Income over expenses
428
Dignity
Enrichment
Programme
23%
Charitable
objectives
63%
Financial Performance at a Glance
Income
Amount
% receipt
17,685,685
63%
Dignity Enrichment Programme
3,313,923
12%
Grants received
1,885,500
7%
Income from other sources
4,384,160
16%
615,870
2%
Donations
Others
Total
27,885,137
Expenses
%
Dimentia Care
1,668,349
6%
Grants utilisation
1,377,603
5%
6,325,450
23%
17,335,851
63%
750,316
3%
27,457,570
27,457,570
Charitable objectives
74
Others
Total
80
300
250
200
Amount
Dignity Enrichment Program
Budget vs Actual
Budget
150
Actual
100
50
0
in Lakhs
Ordinary donation receipts
Expenses for cause
81