“Grandparents Wish Collection and Fulfillment” in Old Age Home, Bangalore.

..."Having been a volunteer at the Make a Wish Foundation in Bangalore, I was familiar with the concept of collecting wishes for children suffering with life-threatening illnesses. Why not extend the thought, I wondered? Why not be a genie to the elderly as well? I chose to act immediately, and emailed volunteers to generate a good response.

It was the last day of my Sabbatical and many people arrived to show their support for the wish collection and fulfillment initiative. We reached the Ashram so early that the elderly were still asleep. But that didn’t matter – I used this opportunity to brief volunteers on collecting wishes.

To my surprise, it was auto driver Murali (whose story can be found at Super Auto Driver Murali) who collected more wishes than any of us! As the event progressed, those who wanted to leave early seemed to forget all prior commitments and decided to stay! A total of 22 wishes were collected and fulfilled in the weeks to follow.

While some grannies wished to eat ice cream candy, others wanted to watch old movies and some even wanted to eat chicken Biryani. Extravagance wasn’t what these elders wanted. All they wanted were the little things: sweets (Chirote, Doodh Peda, laddoos), fruits (jamoon, banana, pineapple, watermelon), headphones, a Telugu movie, a visit to a temple or a walk at the local park."...

Full article at: http://chaiwithlakshmi.in/2013/inclusiveindia/om-ashram.html





Alzheimer's Disease in India:

Great job! at my place it is extended to "Life Projects for Elderlys", we try to know the persons habits, 

abilities, routine and enjoyments especially for those suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and Related 

Disorders, also to provide adjusted stimulation to refrain the loss of autonomy, keep them active and as 

long  as possible decision-makers of their own life but under supervision. It is part of the carepath and 

provide well-being among them but also among the caregivers (families and pros). They have a lot to 

know  about each other, to enjoy together..and sometimes they are even surprised of the 

remaining abilities!