Our Helping Hands Project : Concept Note

 

In our second Executive Committee meeting held on May 25, 2017, it was decided that being an organisation with social responsibility, The Millennium Elders' Forum (estd 2008) would initiate the Helping Hands Project as part of our community service activity.

Here's the Concept Note on this project:-

What We Wish To Do:

In collaboration with the various Apartment Owners Associations, facilitate the creation of a committed group of volunteers who will provide a helping hand to residents of Brigade Millennium, Brigade Gardenia and Brigade Palmsprings in their hour of need. This initiative can provide immense relief to residents in their moments of need. It also results in a high degree of satisfaction in the volunteers for having been of service to another human in distress in an increasingly impersonal world.

Why This Need: 

In times of acute distress, example an accident in the house, a medical emergency, an emergency caused by a security or safety lapse, we tend to panic and often do things we don't ordinarily do or don't do things that we do as a matter of routine! This is because we are under great stress. It is most common to feel awfully lonely and lost in such situations. At such times, more than anything else perhaps, what we need is an assurance that we are not alone and that help is at hand.

Time being of the essence in emergencies, what matters is how fast aid is provided rather than who provides it. It make take hours for your family to respond but by then it may be too late. People have lost valuable time searching for medicines, looking for blood donors with the required blood group, struggling to call for medical help, an ambulance etc.

Having a directory of volunteers or Helping Hands readily available will significantly cut down time to address the needs of the person in distress. Each block will have such a directory in the reception and with the Manager so that volunteers can be called to help 24x7, 365 days a year. While this may also be available on electronic format, the base document will be a physical document such as a register as some, especially among the elders may not be tech savvy enough to access emails, apps, internet resources etc.

Who Will This Serve

Beneficiaries will be all residents of the Brigade Millennium, Brigade Gardenia, and Brigade Palmsprings complexes. This service is not restricted to the elderly or to members of the MEF. While in general, elders tend to be more vulnerable than others, emergencies can strike anyone at anytime irrespective of age or gender.

Who Can Volunteer 

We actively seek the support of qualified medical practitioners/psychiatrists/social counselors in our campuses who will consent to make themselves available to be reached at any time of the day or night in an emergency situation. They are best trained to decide the course of action on reaching the spot.

Any person above 18 years of age, physically and mentally capable of helping in an emergency, can register. Having a valid driving licence, certification in first aid and other such qualifications would be added advantages.

Volunteers can offer to be of service in one or more of these ways: donate blood, assist the injured and /or their family members, drive a patient to the hospital, arrange for ambulance or immediate medicines etc etc depending of course on the circumstances of each case.

As this is totally voluntary, there can be no "desired number of volunteers".  Generally, the services of volunteers will, in the first instance be towards the blocks in which they reside.  At times, if the situation so demands, assistance can be sought from volunteers in other blocks.


Next Steps

Once there is broad agreement on this concept note and it is refined, the members of the MEF Executive Committee will meet with Presidents and Management Committees of the various Apartment Owners Associations in BM/BG/BPS to seek their support and involvement in implementing this initiative which can be of significant benefit to our residents. 

MEF members will then help the Owners Associations to propagate the idea within each apartment block / complex. 

Each Block will start this activity as per their convenience but we would do our best to have at least a few Blocks implement our Helping Hands Project by end July 2017. 

Interesting People: Mr. Rajinder K.Chopra

This is the first of conversations we shall have over time with interesting people in our Millennium Elders' Forum. They have different backgrounds, different experiences, and different stories to tell, but they are nevertheless interesting to talk to!

Today, we meet Mr. Rajinder K. Chopra.

In the community in which he lives, he is simply "Chopra Uncle" for everyone from 16 to 60! I had the pleasure of having a chat with him recently. 

It was fascinating to hear him recount stories of his youth when as a young boy of seven, he and his family had to flee Lahore in the then undivided Punjab. Those ghastly days went down in history as one of our worst human tragedies: the infamous Partition of India. "It was all because of the politicians," recounts Mr. Chopra. " I have seen immense suffering. We were lucky to escape with what little we could carry. We escaped hidden in a goods train. Many were less fortunate. I have seen trains reach India full of dead bodies." These events took place 70 years ago but you can see he still has sad memories of those traumatic days.

A chemical engineer by profession who specialized in Petroleum Technology, Mr. Chopra did his graduation in 1965. He then studied at the Indian Institute of Petroleum set up in Dehradun in 1960 as Prime Minister Nehru wanted to develop a cadre of petroleum engineers within the country. " When others got stipends of Rs. 250 per month, we were given 500," he says with a twinkle in his eyes.

He was then employed by Engineers India Limited for nearly a decade during which time he worked in projects designing petroleum refineries in Haldia, Bongaigaon, and Mathura. He next went to Kuwait where he worked for the next 33 years, out of which 28 years were in a Government oil refinery and five years as a consultant in a private catalyst manufacturing company.

Towards the fag end of his career he came to Bangalore for the treatment of  his ailing wife but unfortunately she passed away due to cancer. He went back to Kuwait and worked for another 18 months but says he was so psychologically upset that he didn't want to stay in that same house. He left Kuwait to stay in Bangalore with his daughter.

To keep himself active, he started supporting Samiksha Foundation which is doing yeoman service to help children suffering from cancer. He has helped the Foundation in many ways. "I taught a boy who was in 10th standard,"he says. "I had to remember all that I learnt so many decades ago." Dr. Manjari Bhatnagar of the Samiksha Foundation tells me that boy is now studying in a college. 

With time on his hands and a yearning to do more and keep himself fully occupied, Mr Chopra took up painting as a hobby only a few years ago. This underscores how it is never too late to do what you like to do. In all modesty he says, "I am just an amateur. I have made these paintings with the help of my instructors." School and class may keep many away but not this 77 year old. Four days a week he attends painting classes. He showed me a few of his paintings done in acrylic and in oil. " There are so many paintings, I have no place to keep them" he says. He finds the hobby a source of relaxation which also gives him a sense of achievement. 

"I decided to paint the flower after which our building is named," he tells me. "I downloaded pictures from the internet and tried to get as close a resemblance to the actual colours."  His painting gifted to the Appt Owners Assn holds pride of place in the lobby.

From Partition to Painting, Mr Chopra has seen much of life. His fellow residents know him to be a quiet gentleman, a stickler for punctuality and who is unfailingly courteous. When I jokingly asked him," Are you the youngest in your painting class?" I was astonished when he said, "There is a lady of 84 who attends class too making me far her junior! "

Partition, Petroleum, and Paintings. These stay imprinted in my mind as I took leave of the interesting "Chopra Uncle". I left inspired, thanking him for his time.

On behalf of  the members of the Millennium Elder's Forum, we send him our best wishes. May he be blessed with good heath and peace of mind in the years to come. Happy painting, Sir! 

From The Past : Aadhaar Camp & The Importance of Aadhaar Card

Chronicling events that have been successfully conducted by the Millennium Elders' Forum in the past:-

January 2013: Seniors organize Enrollment Camp for Aadhaar, 

"The initiative to organise such a camp came from several senior citizens of the Elders Forum, notably O P Ramaswamy, Chellappa, Sudarshanam, Nagaraj, Seetharam, Pratap Kumar, Nair, Raghavan and Bhat. Professor Bhat volunteered to coordinate the programme."

"The Espirit de Corps was further exemplified by N R Veguswamy aged 102, a resident of Cassia block who came for enrollment along with his son, Jayaraman aged 69, grandson Anand aged 38 and great-grandson Abhinav aged 3!"

Read the full article by Mr. O. P. Ramaswamy in Bangalore Citizen Matters
The MEF had undertaken this project as part a community service initiative.

Here's an update for 2017:
 As you know, over the years since its inception in 2009, the 12 digit Unique Identity Number called Aadhaar has become more widely accepted. An estimated 88 % of  India's population or some 1.12 billion people have already been issued with the Aadhaar card says this article in The Economic Times.

Now it is required that you have an Aadhaar card for opening a bank account and for any transaction over Rs 50,000. The Aadhaar card is also required to be mentioned when you file your Income Tax returns.

I am sure most of our members already have the Aadhaar card. If by chance you do not, please get this done at the earliest.

Welcome!

 " Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young"- Henry Ford.

Welcome to the virtual home of the Millennium Elders' Forum, Bengaluru!

The primary objective of this Society established in 2008, is to provide a forum for the Elderly/Senior Citizens living in and around Brigade Millennium (in JP Nagar 7th Phase, in South Bengaluru) to enrich and advance their spiritual, social, cultural, intellectual and literary levels.

Also for fostering brotherhood and mutual co-operation among them and generally for improving the quality of life.

Launched by the Executive Committee for 2017-18, this blog is a new initiative to provide our members with a modern day platform to showcase their talents, in diverse fields including writing and photography.

In addition, we shall use this platform to share information which would be of value to our members.