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Abstract
India has the largest population of young people in the world. But in western countries there is the concept of social security. There is no indication that India will have a system of social security in near future. There are many organizations working for the elderly. One such organization, Nightingale Trust, has been doing yeomen service in this field. The Trust, established in Bangalore in the year 1996 with the primary objective of taking care of the elderly people, in the last two decades, has grown rapidly with different services and received many accolades from the stake holders and government. This is a case study on the said trust. It gives the details about the Trust, its history, organization and details of service activities. The case study also includes interviews with the management and beneficiaries. This case study proves that proper management of resources along with a compassionate attitude can work wonders.
Key words; Senior Citizens, Elderly Care, Charitable Trust
P Populations in Western countries are now skewed with higher percentage of senior citizens. In India, the situation is just opposite. India has the largest population of young people in the world. But there is a glaring difference, in Western countries there is the concept of social security. That is totally absent in India and there is no indication that India will have a system of social security in near future. Under these circumstances, it is imperative that we should take care of our senior citizens.
Care for senior citizens popularly called as Aged care or Elderly care, or simply Eldercare can be broadly defined as fulfillment of the special needs and requirements unique to senior citizens. This encompasses such services as assisted living, adult day care, long term care, nursing homes, hospice care, and home care. In India, the traditional way of life takes it for granted that the children take care of the elderly. However lately, because of transformation of joint families to nuclear families, change in lifestyle, children going to far-off places (including abroad) for employment, hectic urban life etc. traditional eldercare by children may not always be possible. Hence a systematic approach of eldercare by third party is becoming relevant.
Background
There are many organizations working for the...