11th July, 2016, Mumbai: The Adhata Trust, a Mumbai-based NGO focused on the psychosocial welfare and upliftment of senior citizens, today announced the opening of its sixth community center at Nerul. Located at SIES College of Arts, Science and Commerce in Nerul, the aforementioned community center is Adhata’s first in Navi Mumbai and aims to reach out to senior citizens in the area with a vision to improve the quality of their lives via interactive, community-driven initiatives. Adhata’s existing community centers in Mumbai are located at Sion, Andheri, Matunga, Saki Naka and TISS Mumbai, and the trust plans to open a hundred centres over the next five years. Plans are also afoot to open a geriatric hospital in Navi Mumbai.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Arun Nanda, Founder, Adhata Trust, said, “At Adhata, we strongly believe that retirement can offer senior citizens a renewed sense of self and a new lease of life – one which affords the opportunity to take up interests and activities that one might not have been able to pursue earlier. We are focused on providing an encouraging and enabling environment for our senior citizen members, so that they are able to regain self-reliance and confidence, while participating in activities that have been specially designed to enrich their lives and help them connect with the world at large.”
The inaugural event at Nerul witnessed lively dance and theatre performances by Adhata members from its Andheri, Sion, Matunga and TISS centers, with the audience comprising senior citizens from multiple Adhata centers, along with students and teachers of SIES college, Nerul. Belying the years behind them, Adhata members put on lively and entertaining performances, much to the delight of all present!
Recent reports estimate that the proportion of the elderly will rise to 20% of India’s population by 2050. This suggests a pressing need to address the long existing yet much ignored issues of loneliness and lack of active support systems that senior citizens in India face today. Increasing life expectancy and access to healthcare mean that a growing number of senior citizens will be susceptible to depression, with children and other family members often either busy or away at work.
Adhata seeks to forge bonds between the elderly and the newer generations by involving the latter in special community building programs. Through its network of community centers and activities, the trust enables senior citizens to participate in specially curated programs designed to cater to their psychological, emotional, social and physiological needs.
