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PMC looks at ‘healthy ageing’ initiative for elderly in 40 slums through SCHOOL as part of Covid response
Pune Municipal Corporation commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad, mandated them to expand their work across slums in Pune city to help at least 40,000 senior citizens.
Seven volunteers of School (Society of Community Health Oriented Operational Links) worked tirelessly to help 515 senior citizens, of the Kasturba Vasahat and Indira Vasahat in Aundh, manage their daily chores and health needs during the lockdown.
Endorsing the reach of the organisation and its volunteers, which has been working to establish a ‘senior citizens’ community centre’, Pune Municipal Corporation commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad, mandated them to expand their work across slums in Pune city to help at least 40,000 senior citizens.
“In April, PMC commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad endorsed the work we have been doing in the Aundh slums and mandated us to expand our work across all slums of Pune city. So, we have started micro-planning for 40 slums with the help of the World Health Organisation (WHO),” said Benazir Patil, chief executive officer (CEO) of the organisation.
Over the past year, School volunteers have been taking various initiatives related to the health, mental well-being and entertainment of senior citizens in the Aundh slums. During the lockdown, seven volunteers of the organisation, three from outside and four within the community, under the technical guidance of the WHO, took care of the elderly. Now, it will be a part of the Covid-19 response and will be extended to 40 other slums among the eight big slum clusters of Pune city.
Dr Kalpana Baliwant, assistant medical officer at PMC, said, “School organisation is doing good work in two of the slums in Aundh ward. They presented their work to us in April, specifically regarding care for elderly people during Covid-19. So, we have asked them to expand their ‘Healthy Ageing’ initiative to 40 densely-populated slums in eight slum clusters namely Yerawada, Aundh, Ghole road, Bibwewadi, Bhavani peth, Sahakarnagar, Warje-Karvenagar and Hadapsar. For this initiative we are also getting support from the WHO Maharashtra office.”
Giving the details of the daily timetable of the volunteers, Patil, said, “There are currently two types of volunteers working with the centre, two of them are our community officials who live at the centre and four volunteers are from the slums itself who work on a voluntary basis. They come to the centre in the morning at 10am and pack food packets, then deliver the packets to elderly. They also visit those who are not keeping well and see if they need support and inform them of their next check-up. Our community officers, if needed, check blood pressure, sugar or oxygen levels with the pulse oximeter. Volunteers also help the community officers in distribution of raw ration, hygiene kits, masks, medicines and adult diapers.”
“We had a good meeting with the representatives of the organisation and soon, I will be personally visiting both the slums to understand their work properly. We will be taking up the initiative in 40 other slums under PMC, so that we can save more lives of our senior citizens during this crisis situation,” said the civic chief Gaikwad.
For 63-year-old Gorakh Dada Gaikwad, School volunteers are nothing short of miracle for the elderly. “When the lockdown was announced, we were worried as to how we will manage our daily food and ration for the house. But when the organisation helped us by providing ration kits, it provided a great relief to my entire family. The volunteers regularly visit our home and check if we need supplies, medical and otherwise.”
Kanta Joma Waghmare, a 70-year-old who lives in the Aundh slums, said, “It is God’s grace that School volunteers are working for us and look after us. This is the greatest service they could have done. Both ration and medicines were provided to me at a time when I needed them the most.”
Akash Ashok Adhav, 25, a student, who works as a volunteer and also lives in the slums, said, “I had been going to collect adult diapers for my grandmother earlier and when the lockdown started, they asked if I wanted to volunteer with them. So, I started working and initially provided ration kits, distributed food packets, multi-vitamin tablets and then, they taught me how to check blood pressure, test sugar levels and collect information from critical patients who are bound to their homes. All the safety equipment like face masks, sanitisers and hand gloves were given to me. My friends also helped me when they saw me work.”
