Help Age India (HAI), an organisation working for the elderly, on Tuesday launched a campaign to bridge the gap between the young and the old in the city. It is called ‘Help Unite Generations’ (HUG).
It calls on college students and young professionals to adopt an elderly person. The volunteers are to keep in touch with the adopted elders through phone and regular visits, inquire about their health, help them with their medical appointments, take them out for walks or even a movie or any social interaction the two agree to.
Officials from HAI said that in view of security concerns, the program deliberately discourages engaging with unknown strangers. The volunteers are to adopt an elder either in their extended family or from their neighbourhood.
The elders would be given the contact details of the volunteer so that they can seek their help, especially in an emergency. “The program is designed to provide a companionship to elders and also build social security for them,” volunteers of HAI said.
‘Human jungle’
The campaign was inaugurated by noted freedom fighter and activist H.S. Doreswamy who said that society had degenerated into a human jungle and social workers should also build a just society along with their chosen field of work. He recounted his younger days when his family had close to 60 members living under one roof.
“With the degeneration of a joint family system to a nuclear family, the most affected are the children and the elders. It is commendable to bring the two together,” he said.
