Agewell Foundation

BANK ACCOUNT!!!       A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed, and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.  His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.  After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.  As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.      "I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.  "Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."  "That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied.  Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.  Whether I like my room doesn't depend on how th...

Agewell Center for Ageing NEWSLETTER                 March 2010 Age is a matter of mind Aging can be difficult but not for all the times. Physically we all have to go through it, but psychologically we can remain young throughout our life. We should always remember that even though our physical appearance changes, our mind does not. People in their 70’s or 80’s can be much younger than people in their 30s or 40s. It all depends on one thing and that is our attitude towards our life. People are found complaining about their inability to enjoy fountain of youth , but they are often unaware of the fact that the youthfulness can be retained by simply looking within ourselves and changing our mindset. Always remember, we are never too old to realize a new dream or set new targets in our life. Also we must realize, just because someone is older, it does not mean that they have nothing left to offer to their fami...

Parents, Grand-parents... all old and infirm, are only a phone call away. But you don’t have time to call them as regularly as you would like to. Is there a solution to all the loneliness? Agewell Foundation has found an answer for these people. It is not unusual to see qualified women, living in various small and big cities of India who, though busy managing husbands and children still have time in their hands where they want to do something good and productive. They have free time when their children are away at school and are willing to do something that would make them feel good about themselves and earn some good karma too. Agewell Foundation has a specific data base of volunteers who can talk via telephone to old people who never leave home. There are a large number of old people (more women than men) who are unable to go out and mostly home bound with limited interaction with the outside world. Individually within the four walls of almost every home old people are being re...

Agewell Study on Status of Older Women In India Agewell Research & Advocacy Centre STATUS  OF ELDERLY WOMEN IN INDIA March, 2010   Background Old women have restricted social interaction, limited earning possibilities, several medical complications, emotional isolation (in many cases even from their own children), very limited knowledge or awareness of their legal rights and natural reluctance to seek justice. In many Indian societies women are considered second class citizens. They have been legging behind in almost all walks of life for centuries. They have never been financially independent. Due to less social interaction they even don’t know about their rights and powers. They are always dependent on male members of the family for their basis needs, even for day-to-day requirements. Older women have more critical problem than older men. Due to social and traditional family structure they are forced to live with many limitations. Hence the...