Greening the autumns

When Faiz Aq Ahmad Mumtaz walked in to receive the Annual Nexus of Good Award not many knew that this young civil servant had come all the way from a remote District, Jamtara in Jharkhand. He was being recognised for having achieved something unique and setting up a model that is already being replicated and scaled through public-private partnership.

Elder's Club is an attempt to address old-age loneliness, extreme anxiety and depression, and other mental and physical health problems among the senior citizens of the district. The idea is to help the senior citizens lead a dignified old age, find some purpose in life and something to look forward to. This attempt is to enable them to interact and socialise with people of their age, and de-stress. It was believed that senior citizens had much to offer through their wisdom and years of experience, and they can play a vital role in bringing peace in the society.

The Idea was conceptualised and implemented by Faiz. Old dilapidated government buildings, lying unused in each block, were revamped and redeveloped through convergence of government funds and public participation. A beautiful park has been developed around each of these clubs for the members to indulge in physical exercises in the open.

When Faiz came across multiple instances of senior citizens who had become depressed due to the loss of their loved ones, especially a wife or a child, he thought all that these people needed was company of friends, something to keep them busy. Thus, he came up with the idea of recreational clubs exclusively for senior citizens.

Once the locations and buildings were identified in all six blocks, the district administration appealed to the local businesses and officials as well as the residents to offer whatever help they could. Police department and civil administration donated chairs, weighing machines, indoor games such as carrom, chess, ludo, badminton etc., and various religious and secular books for the clubs. Local businesses donated colour TVs, sofa, cupboards and other furniture, while outlets of IOCL donated refrigerators for each of the Elder's clubs. These clubs have religious books like Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Quran etc. as well as books of Premchand and other literary figures. Members of these clubs have become involved in social activities like Swachh Bharat and plastic-free society. They also advise and create awareness among villagers against various social evils.

These clubs are managed and run by a management and maintenance committee constituted from among the members. Each Committee has a president and a treasurer. They also have subcommittees for carrying out various functions and hand holding and training the members of the club to look after themselves and the club. Issues relating to family disputes and neglect by children are addressed at these clubs by holding monthly hearings wherein district officials also participate.

These clubs and libraries are solving multiple problems:

⁕ Old dilapidated buildings have been refurbished and repaired. These buildings were salvaged and are now useful assets for the panchayats.

⁕ Good books for various competitive exams have been provided in these libraries for students.

⁕ Female students who would otherwise have dropped out are getting a place in their village to pursue their ambitions without having to leave their village to prepare for competitions.

⁕ Poor but talented kids who cannot afford to take coaching in metros have well-stocked beautiful libraries in their panchayats.

⁕ As many people visit and benefit from the libraries, it motivates others to do the same.

⁕ Police personnel teach at the libraries every weekend. It presents a different picture of a much-maligned police force.

⁕ It will go a long way in increasing the literacy of the district which is among the most backward in the state.

⁕ It is providing hope to the local youth.

⁕ A sense of community participation and responsibility has developed in many panchayats

These clubs are now buzzing with life and have turned into places of cultural and social activity for the senior citizens. All festivals, including Holi and Eid are celebrated and enjoyed by the members. Similarly, national festivals like Republic Day and Independence Day are celebrated by the members at the clubs. These clubs are exclusively for senior citizens with no membership fee. However, members are free to donate funds. One of these clubs (Narayanpur) has a fully functional kitchen where lunch is cooked daily while others have facilities for making tea.

Targeted health check-up camps, that include free medicine distribution, are organised each month at all the Elder's Club for senior citizens. Regular Yoga and light exercises are some other features of these clubs. Some clubs have musical instruments such as 'tabla' and harmonium as well. They organise 'bhajans' and 'kirtans' for their members. Newspapers are being made available by block officials for these clubs. Many elders of the district have taken the initiative with a lot of excitement and are happy with the way it has all been organised. Both the initiatives of setting up community libraries and Elder's Clubs have had extremely positive responses from the beneficiaries.

Recently, a poetry writing competition was organised for the senior citizens in which many participated and the best three were felicitated on Independence Day function by the district administration. Thus, their creativity was given due recognition and they felt appreciated.

We are all aware of the loneliness and social isolation that the aged have to go through in this fast-moving world where no one has time for others. With children mostly busy with their own work and life, the elderly people are left to fend for themselves. There are many health and psychological problems that the elderly face. Elder's Clubs set up in Jamtara have managed to address some of these issues.

The District Magistrate, Faiz Ahmad and his dedicated team have gone well beyond their call of duty to care for the elders and for setting up libraries. They present a great example of Nexus of Good. They richly deserved the award they got. They have managed to revive a sense of purpose amongst this neglected segment of the society. It is a model that can be replicated and scaled in more Districts of the country.

Views expressed are personal