Personal Website of R.Kannan
Life After Retirement
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Service to Senior Citizens In the sector of Non Government Organizations the unique place goes to Indian Federation on Ageing. InFA is a registered Public Trust with Charity Commissioner, Mumbai since March 1989 and is affiliated to International Federation on Ageing (IFA), Montreal, Canada. InFA is also represented in the NGO Committee on Ageing, United Nations, New York. Its present headquarters is located in Mumbai. InFA as a National Apex Body of Senior Citizens in India aims at bringing various agencies, organisations, Associations, Clubs of Senior Citizens working for the cause and welfare of senior citizens in various parts of India under one umbrella, with the objective to have proper co-ordination/interaction between those organisations and to deal with Central/State Governments/Semi Govt. Agencies viz. Municipal Corporation, NGOs etc., for providing speedy and effective solutions to the problems of senior citizens in India. The conference took place in August/September 1992: Indian Federation on Ageing (InFA) Mumbai was the host to the very successful first IFA Global Conference on Ageing in Mumbai at Oberoi Hotel. This was supported by various International Agencies, Govt. of India, Govt. of Maharashtra and United Nations. 400 delegates from 37 countries including 200 delegates from various states of India participated in the conference. This conference has created awareness in India about problems and solutions to the ever-growing aged population. Hardly a day passes when there is no news about elder persons in newspapers and in the electronic media Interaction with Local Authorities: Awards: Elders Day Celebration: National Seminar: International Certificate Courses in Gerontology and Geriatrics: Indian Federation on Ageing in collaboration with Govt. of India, University of Pune, Bharatitya Vidyapith and International Federation on Ageing conducted an International certificate course in Gerontology and Geriatrics from 5th Jan. 1998 to 15th Jan '98 at Pune University Campus. The resource persons were made available by International Institute on Ageing, MALTA (UN) and IFA. InFA is ready to conduct such courses in any part of India is collaboration with local unit. Day Care Centres: Training Camps: NewsLetter:
Another national level NGO of repute is HelpAge India. HelpAge India is a registered national level voluntary organisation. It is a secular, apolitical, non-profit and a non-governmental organisation. Registered in 1978 under the Societies' Registration Act, 1960, . Formed in 1978 with active help from Mr. Cecil Jackson Cole, founder member of 'Help the Aged in United Kingdom'. HelpAge India maintains active liaison with both the Central and State Governments for advocating the cause of the elderly. It has been closely associated with the formulation of the National Policy for Older Persons, announced recently. It is represented at the Working Committee of National Council. The organisation has also been represented on the Working Group for recommending Government thrusts and policies for the Eight and Ninth five-year Plans. It has successfully pressed for travel and tax concessions and other benefits for the elderly. HelpAge India is one of the founding members of HelpAge International, a high profile body having 51 member countries representing the cause of the elderly at the UN It has received a special testimonial from the UN for "dedicated service in support of the United Nations Programme on Ageing". HelpAge India is also a full member of the International Federation on Ageing. HelpAge India is working for the cause and care of Older Persons, with the ultimate aim of empowering them to take decisions pertaining to their own lives. From Welfare to Development Over the years HelpAge India has changed its orientation from implementing welfare projects to those that focus on development. It now lays stress on income-generation and micro-credit projects that enable the participation of Older Persons in the mainstream of society. Aims and Objectives of HelpAge India are stated as under:
Organisational Structure Mr. K R Narayanan, President of India and Mr. R Venkataraman, former President are the patrons of HelpAge India. It's Governing Body, comprising eminent persons from different walks of life, oversees the activities of the society. The Director General of HelpAge India looks after the forward planning and implementation of its policies and programmes with the support of functional Directorates at Head Office. HelpAge India has 24 regional and area offices located all over the country Phenomenal progress in understanding the medical and psychological process of aging has changed the face of aging. It is no longer inevitable to age and decline. Aging is now an option. It is entirely in your hands how happily and healthily u grow older", not "get old" productivity is the key to successful aging. In April 1995 an organisation was set up to cater to the needs of the elderly, starting with the publication of the magazine Dignity Dialogue. In a year's time this organisation eventually grew to comprise services along with the magazine and came to be called Dignity Foundation. The Foundation is premised upon scientific developments in the fields of Geriatry and Gerontology. It offers Structural opportunities to exercise the choice of how to live young in chronologically advancing years! OBJECTIVES
A few of the achievements of Dignity Foundation: In Research Database:
In Dissemination:
In general the aim of the Foundation has been two-fold. One is to rid the minds of the senior citizens of the fear that age means decline and retirement means loneliness, isolation, loss of prestige and so on. The foundation works assiduously to re-instill in the elderly minds the confidence that age and productivity are not mutually exclusive. It does this by utilising their experience and maturity in activities that serve the needs of the community. The other part of the aim is achieved by attending to the needs of the elderly whose social support systems have weakened or nonexistent. The philosophy of productive aging propagated by Dignity Foundation has found practical acceptance in a very large measure in Mumbai City and other cities, which has a clientele of magazine subscribers. In Mumbai alone over a thousand senior citizens volunteers participate actively in the services provided by the Foundation. The volunteers range in age from 50 to 85 years. Dignity Foundation is registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 and also as a Public Trust with the Charity Commissioner of Mumbai. Management The foundation is managed by professionals in the field of management, HRD, Social Work, Psychology, Sociology, Marketing, Editing and Printing and Finance. The First president of the foundation is Dr.Sheilu Sreenivasan whose passion for the cause of senior citizens launched the organisation in 1995. She is an MA in Psychiatric Social Work from Madras University and took her Ph.D. in Mumbai University in Sociology. After a seven-year period in research she joined a publishing firm, Macmillan of India and became Corporate Manager in Bangalore. She then became Head of Publishing in Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai in 1987. She specialised abroad in academic publishing and has been recipient of many awards from reputed organisations in India such as Rotary for her social work. The first Vice-President T.C. Narayan joined Dignity foundation after more than forty years in the corporate world. He was executive director, managing director and chairman of many public companies in India and abroad. He currently serves on the advisory board of HSBC as well as Boards of other companies. | |
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