Nepal's First Senior Citizens Day Care and Lifelong Learning Center

[Aarati Poudel]

I as a youth took this initiative to empower senior citizens by making a group of likeminded colleagues with a common vision and mission. We then started organizing awareness program through signature campaign against elder abuse, awareness program in schools and colleges and finally with some fundraising initiative we started Nepal’s First Day care and Lifelong Learning Center. I have been mobilizing local resources ( human resource, fund, donations) and coordinating with various stakeholders, organizations, corporate houses, schools, colleges, Nepal government to sustain our center and encourage senior citizens to take action for their concerned issues. We also started intergenerational program to bridge senior citizens and youths through intergenerational interaction and sharing program. Besides we started a very noble initiative for the very first time in Nepal titled “Adopt A Grandparent on Your Birthday”. Under this program we are connecting youth and senior citizens through a very caring and loving relationship of Grandparent and Grandchildren where they can share and learn form each other. Also this program have fulfilled the gap of where youths don’t have grandparent or Grandparents don’t have grandchildren.

Metamorphosis: An Interaction and Experience Sharing program is a bi-monthly interaction session organized by Saar Nepal. The main objective of this session is to create a platform to motivate elderly citizens for successful, active and healthy ageing. Also this session brings youths and elders together to understand aspects of both the generations together. We invite 60 plus senior citizens achievers and motivational speakers who shall share their life experiences including their professional arenas and other various aspects till date. The session creates a culture of listening and learning from senior achievers which shall provide a very practical learning approach to the participants to be motivated and inspired to take action in their life too. This interaction program had motivated senior citizens to take action in their life. Because they heard from successful senior citizens that one needs to be educated, updated with technology and if possible in terms of monetary things. Then they started joining non formal education classes, mobile education, computer education in our center. They also started thinking on management of their ageing life and took action to save a bank balance for their ageing life. A group of senior citizens are now also interested to start income generation skills to be independent and soon a income generation activity shall be started.

[Phil]

When you "create a culture of listening and learning", remarkable things begin to happen. A beautiful story. I am sure you will have more to tell us soon. 

[Autry Haynes]

Very inspiring story Aarati (^_^) Please keep us posted on future developments, am sure those will continue to inspire many many folks. Congrats to you for your determination and innovative spirit.