THINGS I LEARNED FROM MY VISIT TO AN OLD AGE HOME TODAY

By Amit Daga - November 29, 2015

The Earth Saviours foundation is a home for aged and differently abled people in Gurgaon. I got connected with this organization through one of my friend during one of our Social initiatives of Terapanth Yuvak Parishad, Gurgaon. In the past whenever I had the opportunity to volunteer for old age homes and orphanage, I have collected fond memories and some wonderful learning’s. Though I never got the opportunity to pen them down, this time I decided to share my experience through my blog.

We went to this place with help of my friend Anuj Mehta, who runs a initiative called Food Bank in Gurgaon and feeds hundreds of hungry people on daily basis. When we entered the old age home he briefed us about the place and the staff there told us about the wonderful things which they do there. But the stories behind these people coming to the shelter were heartbreaking. Many aged people staying here were not homeless. They had their families somewhere in the city or nearby towns. They were left there to spend the rest of their lives because their families didn’t want them anymore. By the end of my day there, I wrapped in my heart 5 take away which I will try to practice in life:

Happiness is a state of mind: The people here were rejected by their own families. Many were ill. Many were counting their last days. But the joy and smiles they had on their face on getting small gifts, clothes & food from us, could bring all of us to shame who grunt at every tiny displeasure we come across, “Oh damn my laptop crashed! How would I survive now”, “Oh god, my company pays me peanuts, I am the poorest person on earth”. What could be more saddening than being rejected by your own family, your own people at an age when you need love and support.
People don’t need gifts or money, they need your time: while we are deeply into our gadgets, busy connecting to the world, we forget that the world at our home is crumbling. How many of us have a hearty laugh or spend an entire day with undivided attention with our parents, spouse, kids, and friends or may be neighbors? I know people who when miss a birthday buy expensive gifts to compensate for their felony. People don’t need gifts they need your time.
Help people, strangers too – that’s humanity – Few women at the old age home were grumpy or simply silent (they did not utter a single word the entire day). But few of them were moving all around, cheering everyone, talking and encouraging them to be a part of the fun day. Their energy was contagious and nobody could say a no to them. That’s what you have when you help people to live, laugh, explore or realize how they can be happy too.
How we bid a farewell to the world is in our hands – Death is certain. But how do we bid a farewell to the world we lived in, is in our hands. Would it be full of happiness, or flooded with tears, or built on a story of pain and agony. It’s on us how do we write the last closing chapters of our lives. Nobody can predict what bad or good would happen to us, but how do we move on with it is an art to be learned and practiced.
Love your parents – I read a beautiful saying on FB few days back – “We are so busy growing up that we forget that our parents are growing old”. I have started to understand the pain parents take to bring up their children. They dedicate the most precious thing to their children– TIME. They are available for us through our thick and thin. But when we grow up and it is time that our parents take a break and do some selfish indulgence, we are no longer available for them. Worst many of us feel they are not needed anymore. Love your parents for the sheer fact they have devoted their prime lives for us – unconditionally.

And finally I left the home with a heavy heart thinking that, aren’t we all interlinked to our society? Let's do something good and spread it, so that people may imitate it. Let us teach our younger generation to respect and listen to elders and spread the message to everyone not to send their Old Parents to the Old Age Home. They deserve much more love and respect. Remember, Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something!