Kolkata: Youth to train in caring for elderly

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government is coming up with a new project called “Bharosa”, that will train youths to take care of the elderly, particularly those who stay away from their family. The training programme will start from the month of July. Two non-governmental organisations, Calcutta Metropolitan Institute Of Gerontology (CMIG) and Maya Foundation, which work with aged people in the city, have been roped in by the government for the purpose.

“The basic concept behind the training is to teach these youths to become friends of the aged in a real sense of the term. These ‘geriatric helpers’ will also be trained in basic medical care of the aged. Apart from care and sympathy, these elderly people in the city that live alone badly need someone to share their thoughts with,” state women and child development and social welfare minister Shashi Panja said.

According to the minister, the training will be of four months. Fifty youths will be trained in two batches (25each) by the two NGOs. The training will involve going thorough police verification. “In recent times, there have been incidents of elderly people being soft targets of their domestic helps. We are hopeful that these trained youths will be trusted companions to the elderly,” an official in the social welfare department said.

The government home for the elderly in south Garia has been named “Apanjan” by the chief minister, said Ms Panja, who attended a programme on World Elder Abuse Awareness day.