SHIELD FOUNDATION ANNUAL REPORT

Transcription

1 SHIELD FOUNDATION ANNUAL REPORT

2 CONTENTS About SHIELD Foundation. 01 From Founder s Desk.. 02 Our Supporters. 04 Our Team.. 05 Activities, Implementation and Achievements Our Services.. 08 Regular Activities and Events.. 09 Highlights of Activities and Events.. 12 Statistics of Eye-Care Services Skill development Project Our Impact.. 19 Development of Comprehensive Health Services Project.. 21 Join us... 31

3 ABOUT SHIELD MISSION AND VISION Shield Foundation represents "Society for Health, Innovation, Education, and Liaisons Development." Centered in Dharavi (Asia's largest slum) in Mumbai, India, the Shield Foundation is focused on developing and delivering educational, medical, recreational, vocational and nutritional services to disadvantaged populations. Key programs include SHIELD's vocational training program for unemployed women to learn respite care giving for home-bound senior citizens who otherwise do not have access to adequate homecare; skills training for tailoring and beautician work for young women in the community; case work for academic, vocational, pre-marital and domestic violence cases; English-speaking and computer courses; and health check-up events. Shield Foundation was created in 2009 by Swati Ingole. During her 10 years of experience as a qualified social worker (MSW), she encountered high rates of neglected and abused elderly living without moral or financial support, and decided to create the Foundation to help these and other underserved individuals. Since its origin, Shield has now grown to include a small but powerful team of five full time staff members (three paraprofessional and one office assistant in addition to the founder), with additional support from 25 nursing student volunteers and social work students from various local universities. In 2011, Shield Foundation was honored to become an investee of UnLtd India, a social enterprise incubator. Mission: To facilitate good mental and physical health and to foster equal growth opportunities for everyone in the society Vision: To make the senior citizens of Mumbai and Nagpur self-sufficient and sensitize society as a whole on issues faced by them 01

4 FROM FOUNDER S DESK Dear friends, The year was full of excitement and happiness. This year a dream project with a cause for betterment of elderly was launched. The organization got empanelled with MCED for skill development project and three batches of skill development project were successfully launched. Community outreach is being done constantly for senior citizens and skill development projects. The team of 5 paraprofessionals have put in efforts to reach out to maximum number of people in the community. These paraprofessionals have got a lot of recognition and appreciation from the community as well. One of our Paraprofessionals has been felicitated by community organisation for her dedicated work for the social cause. They have identified many cases of elderly abuse, elderly requiring medical, legal, nutritional assistance and recreation. With their efforts, we could reach out to more than 2000 people. Our volunteers from Nursing School of LTMGH also helped us in creating awareness among people on various issues concerning senior citizens. The clusters are identified in various localities in Dharavi with the identified cases of elders with various ailments. We have been regularly providing medical services for the elderly. Every Tuesday and Thursdays the free medical check-up facility is initiated. Since the project is in collaboration with LTMGH (Sion Hospital), we are getting Doctors assistance from the Dept. of Psychiatry, Dept. of Medicine, and Dept. of Occupational Therapy. All the necessary equipment for the basic health care are bought at our centre, so that the senior citizens need not rush to Sion Hospital for their basic health care. In a month, approx patients visit our centre for medical aid. Some of them are regular beneficiaries, suffering from diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and multiple ailments related to elderly. There is free yoga class on Every Monday. On every Friday, the occupational therapist attends patients identified with orthopaedic problems. Every second Tuesday Eye Check-Up is being organized. The elderly with Cataract problems are referred to K.B. Haji Bacchu Ali Eye Hospital for free Cataract surgery. Free spectacles are given to all poor and needy elderly. 02

5 Various cases of elder abuse are identified during community outreach and they are provided counselling to resolve their conflicts. A volunteer senior Lawyer provides legal support for the cases of elder abuse and for women in distress. The community outreach is being done regularly, mainly for skill development project. As per the interests and the requirement of ladies, the information about various courses is being disseminated to community. We have made an effort to start computer courses and provided training at free of cost at the request of local kids in our community as there is no computer institute nearby in the locality with courses at concessional rates. This year we have extended our free skill development services at Lower Parel too. We have reached out to 1000 elderly in a year and 1000 other stake holders. This progress is the result of team work. I would appreciate the efforts taken by outreach team in mobilizing people. Without their support, we would not have achieved this impact. From the bottom of heart, I would like to thank all doctors from LTMGH Hospital, lawyers, volunteers and Management committee, and all our supporters. Without their kind support, it would have been difficult to achieve our goal to support the society. We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to Dr. Ranjeet Patil, Hon. Minister of State for Home, Govt. of Maharashtra, who has shown interest in our work and Inaugurated the project on health care of elderly of Dharavi and encouraged us to continue this work. Mrs. Swati Ingole Founder Trustee & Managing Secretary SHIELD Foundation 03

6 OUR SUPPORTERS SHIELD Foundation has been fortunate to have been associated with a committed group of supporters, who have always offered their expertise and help for our cause. Be they our partner networks, donors, other NGOs or volunteers, we are thankful to them for their wholehearted involvement and for being with us throughout our journey! Our partners and supporters include: ICDS FOGSI UnLtd india MDACS/UNICEF Center for Advanced Philanthropy Yashwantrao Chawan Pratishthan District Suburban Legal Aid Cell Field Publicity Office Govt. of India Jan Shikshan Sanstha SIES College, Sion Progressive Ladies Welfare Association FESCOM Rotary Club of Chembur Rotary Club of Sion S. L. Raheja Hospital Fortis Associate Sai Group of Hospitals K. B. haji Bacchu Ali Eye Hospital LTMGH & LTMMC (Sion Hospital) SNDT College LTMG School of Nursing ivolunteer Help Age India IDA ACC ltd Trained Nurses Association of India, Mumbai Region (Nurses of LTMGH Nursing School, Bombay Hospital, Guru Nanak Hospital, Nair Hospital, Tata Memorial Hospital, and Sir. J J Medical College, KEM Hospital, etc.) Jyothi Laboratories Ltd BLR Logistiks Ltd Dinshaws Ice Cream Lions Club of Bandra Red Rose Four Seasons Group of Hotels ST. Aloysius College Jabalpur, M.P Nagpur Legal Aid Cell Rajguru Travels Metropolise Laboratories AISCON Help Your NGO Alzheimer's & Related Disorders Society of India,(Mumbai Chapter) Ali Ya Var Jung Hospital Sunday Friends Time My Task Several Individual Donors/ supporters etc. MCED ONGC 04

7 OUR TEAM Suman Morey President Naju Padsha Vice-President She has passed B.A. and has done a Diploma in Economics. She retired as Branch Manager in Central Bank of India. She was President of the Lioness Club of Bandra (Red Rose) for 3 tenures over the last 20 years. She has also served as Secretary for Five Garden s Senior Citizens Association for the last 10 years. She was a President of the F North Ward Senior Citizens Association, an initiative of the Family Welfare Organisation. Dr. Daksha Pandit Hon. Project Director She currently serves as Professor & Head of Department of PSM (Community Medicine) at Terna Medical College & Terna Hospital. Dr. Pandit s current responsibilities include offering comprehensive health services like promotive, preventive, curative at Dharavi Urban Health Center, Vashind, a Primary Health Center in rural areas as well as slums in Chembur area in Mumbai. She has passed B.A. and is a homemaker. She is known for her strength and independence as an individual. She provided motivation to the founder for serving society, and has always stood behind the team through any crisis situation. She has served several needy people on a personal basis, including individuals in need for cataract surgery. She is also helping the team in building the organization s base at Nagpur. Swati Ingole Founder Trustee & Managing Secretary Swati Ingole, MSW (Master of Social Work), has been providing social work services to underprivileged populations in Mumbai for over 12 years. She served as Coordinator for FOGSI s Kishori (Adolescent Empowerment) Project, an initiative run in conjunction with LTMG Hospital and SNEHA. She also worked as Secretary for F North Ward Senior Citizens Association, an initiative of Family Welfare Organisation for four years, tackling various problems senior citizens faced and organizing community events. With this same passion to serve poor and needy, Shield Foundation was founded by her in She has had the privilege of working on research-based projects funded by UNICEF, FOGSI, and others, providing invaluable experience for her current role. 05

8 Smruti Patil Joint Secretary She has done a B.A. and B.Sc. in Microbiology and appeared for M.A. in English Literature. She is a teacher at Bhide School, Nagpur, and very motivated for social causes. She has always been keen to work hard for the betterment of students, and has received appreciation letters for hard work an excellent result. Along with career goals, she always has maintained a sense of responsibility towards society, the marginalized and needy, and currently serves as treasurer for Shield Foundation. Dr. Nilesh Shah Chief Adviser & Member He currently serves as Professor and Head of Department for the Psychiatry Department of Sion Hospital. Dr. Shah s academic credentials include an MBBS, DPS, MD (Psychiatry) from University of Mumbai, and DNB (Psychiatry) from the Delhi Board, and work experience includes over a decade as Professor and Head of Psychiatry at L.T.M.M.C-L.T.M.G.H, over 20 years of teaching experience for medical students, postgraduates, social work students and nursing students. Dr Shah has 90 publications in various national and international journals / books, and has received a number of awards for Best Paper from Bombay Psychiatry Society, Indian Psychiatric Society (Western zonal branch), as well as the Spirit of Mumbai Award of Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts & Sangeetha Sabha. Aditi Deshmukh Treasurer Rashmi Shende Member She is an educationist presently working as a lecturer in Shri Datta Meghe Polytechnic, Nagpur. She is a science graduate, but later on switched over to literature so as to continue education after marriage in a conservative family. She holds a post graduate degree in literature along with her Bachelor s degree in education and M Phil is in the pipeline. Along with career goals, she always has maintained a sense of responsibility towards society, the marginalized and needy, and currently serves as treasurer for Shield Foundation. She holds a master s degree in science, diploma in computer programming, and bachelor s degree in library science. She taught computer science in school up to 10th class level for few years. Now she is a senior computer instructor in our foundation for vocational courses. She is very much motivated for social causes and helps the foundation for raising fund

9 Rosita Mascarenhas Member Mr. Dichulkar Member He retired from Reserve Bank of India nearly 5 years back and since then he s actively involved for the cause of elderly. He is Secretary of FESCOM (Federation for Senior Citizens of Maharashtra), Mumbai Region. He has been actively involved in advocacy for the cause of elderly. He is actively involved in sensitizing BMC for the cause of elderly and successful in making BMC sensitive towards the cause of elderly. With the collective efforts, BMC has accommodated elderly in their policy and has allocated the budget for the elderly. He is constantly involved in making ID cards and PAN cards for senior citizens from underprivileged community, with which elderly can avail the various schemes of government. He is always ready to provide need based services for the organization. Simran Dhaliwal Content writer Her qualifications include a BA in sociology from TTC and a Diploma in special education. She is a special educator, working with mentally challenged children and children with academic and learning disabilities, and also is a social worker in the field of education. In the past, she has worked in women empowerment and counselling programmes. Kalyani Ingole Member She is highly motivated for social cause. As per need of the organization, she actively provides with her services on honorary basis. She is currently doing M.B.B.S, and has a dream to serve the society with her education. Currently she has supported the organization in communication and networking. She is a volunteer-turned-content Developer, full of creative ideas and loads of enthusiasm. She holds a Bachelor s Degree in Engineering. She is passionate about supporting elderly and writing. She is also the primary author of our Annual Reports. 07

10 OUR SERVICES Free Medical Services Counselling Services Health check ups Free cataract OPD & Surgery Yoga & Exercise Memory Clinics Treatment camps Individual & Family Legal aid Pan & ID card services Follow-up home visits Recreational activities Awareness and Educational Services Educational workshops Information sessions Daily newspaper sessions Picnic Indoor/outdoor games Socio-cultural celebrations 08

11 REGULAR ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS Weekly meetings: Weekly or as per the requests of senior citizens in Dharavi, meetings are arranged between the senior citizens and the staff members, usually to discuss and decide the activities or programmes to be held next. Community Outreach: In collaboration with L.T.M.G. Nursing School, we regularly conduct house to house surveys to identify patients with any medical or social problem(s). There are participants on an average at these meets. Also, in these meetings, many social, political, recreational and educational issues are discussed amongst the elderly. Support group meetings are also arranged for patients with diabetes, heart diseases or other such health problems so that they can mutually discuss their problems and suggest ways to improve their health. We have developed pockets of elderly in 4 areas of Dharavi, where we carry out these surveys. 20 students along with three paraprofessionals are able to reach out to almost 50 houses every day. 09

12 Ophthalmic OPD: Ophthalmic OPD for screening cataract and to identify refractive error is arranged once a week. 481 patients have been provided with eye care and treatment services this year. Health check-ups: The health check-ups are arranged on Every Tuesday and Thursday. The eye check-ups are arranged on every second Tuesday. The health cards are maintained for regular patients. In three months period, 715 health cards were distributed this year. It is observed that most of the elderly are suffering from the diseases like Diabetes, Hypertension, Asthma, Cataract, Arthritis, Orthopaedic problems, gastric problems, cardiac problems, Psychological issues like Insomnia, Dementia, Anxiety, Alzheimer s, Amnesia and multiple ailments etc. Yoga and Physiotherapy: On every Monday, Yoga and Exercise sessions are conducted at our center in collaboration with LTMG Hospital. A group of ladies with physical problems like Arthritis, Knee problem, Shoulder pain, Obesity etc. avail these facilities every day in the morning. Two to three occupational therapists guide and supervise during the exercise. Average attendance in these sessions is participants. Memory Clinic: Memory Check Ups are arranged twice in a month initially for few months and then later on we have arranged these check-ups as per the need of the community. There are around 100 beneficiaries of this service this year. On every Friday, there a special exercise therapy is conducted. Patients suffering from various orthopaedic problems are referred for special exercise sessions on Friday at our Centre. Due to regular services at centre, referrals for Nebulization, ECG, BP monitoring, Occupational therapy have declined. 10

13 Counselling Services: Every day, we organize counselling for cases of elders abuse, for any grievances of the elderly or for their financial assistance. As and when required, we do home visits for family counselling for cases of elders abuse. We establish proper rapport with the police and Govt. legal aid cell authorities. As and when required, such cases are also referred to psychiatrists or legal counsellors. The Joint Action Committee comprising of local respectable senior citizens is formed to deal with the issues of elder abuse. Around 100 people got benefit from our counselling services. Educational and Recreation: Regular newspapers and magazines and a T.V. set are provided for the senior citizens at our centre. For recreational purposes, we have arranged games like cards, carom, chess, and memory games. Often outdoor games are organized. Average attendance at any time is senior citizens. Legal Counselling: Legal counselling is arranged as per the need of cases either at center or at the place of legal advisors. Around 39 cases were solved this year. 11

14 HIGHLIGHTS OF ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS An Acupressure Camp was arranged on 10 th April 2015 at Tarun Bauddha Krida Mandal Gym; Smt. Monica Banergi was the resource person. 70 people got benefit from this camp. Smt. Monica Banergi discussed and demonstrated how with various acupressure tools and by pressing various body parts, different ailments can be treated. It is a kind of supportive therapy. Without taking any medicines, diseases can be recovered without any side-effects. Data was collected from a diverse group of people and in depth interviews were taken of Focus groups. By analysing the data collected, a master chart was prepared and data is managed and its report was submitted to ACC Cement in the month end. On 20 th October 2015, World elders day was celebrated. Approx. 90 elderly attended the programme. On 30 th April 2015, we visited ACC Cement plant office at Kalamboli for the project Village Socio-economic Development Asudgao. A picnic was arranged on 26 th January 2016 at Triumbakeshwar. 50 elderly came along for this trip. From 1 st to 5 th May, a focused Group Discussion was arranged. A structured questionnaire was prepared. 12

15 Musical Orchestra was arranged by Rotary Club at Lala Lajpatrai College on 15 th February elderly enjoyed the programme. A Rangoli' competition on Women s health was also arranged. On the occasion of International Women s Day, on 8 th March, a programme was arranged at Kasarwadi. 96 ladies attended the event. Along with that, Musical Chair and one-minute games were enjoyed by the women groups. An educational workshop was arranged on the topics: General Health of Elderly by Dr. Sangita Pednekar; General Mental Health by Dr. Ritika; Importance of exercise and Occupational therapy by Dr. Shailaja Jaywant. 13

16 STATISTICS OF EYE-CARE SERVICES Statistics of eye-care services offered by us in We have successfully helped 481 eye patients. S. No. Eye Checkup Total no. of Cataract Spectacles Referrals Date beneficiaries cases 1 13/04/ /05/ /06/ /07/ /08/ /09/ /10/ /11/ /12/ /01/ /02/ /03/ Total

17 SKILL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT Goal: To Empower the underprivileged with skill development training Objectives: To empower illiterate women by basic education and with suitable skills. To provide every individual an opportunity for vocational training as per their ability, irrespective of caste, creed, or gender. To connect them with the industries requiring their skills. To network with various government and non-government organisation for skill development and further up gradation of skills. Target Groups: School drop outs Literacy rate of women is far less than that of men, and a high percent of girls drop out of formal education before reaching the Vth class. A large number of school drop outs do not have access to skill development for improving their employability rate. The educational entry requirements and long duration of courses of the formal training system are some of the impediments for a person of low educational attainment to acquire skills for his livelihood. Immigrants from rural areas Domestic workers Under-privileged people belonging to low-income groups. Women who face limited educational and working opportunities, especially due to gender discrimination. 15

18 Methodology: Flexibility and care for students' real needs are the main features of our basic and vocational skills education. No formal education is required to attend the private certificated courses Teachers adapt to the student's capacities and the length of the course is expanded to meet the need. The focus is on "performing" and not on "Knowing". Lecturing is restricted to the minimum and emphasis is given on "hands on training". Flexible delivery mechanism (part time) to suit needs of various target groups Individual counselling with an encouraging approach is provided in order to optimize the students' performance. Course Plan & Duration: Beauty Course Skin therapy, professional ethics and communication skills, theory of massage, masks and packs, home care recipes for skin and hair, basic facials are the topics covered in this course. Its duration is 3 months. On 15 th April 2015, 2 batches of this course were started, with 20 women students in each batch. Tailoring & cutting: This a course that helps the students learn how to make clothes for themselves and others. They are taught basic stitches; to make apparels for ladies, gents and kids; to design dresses, both regular wears and fancy dresses. On 15 th April 2015, a batch of tailoring class was started, with 20 students. 16

19 Short Courses: Young girls and women can learn practical skills through short term classes like mehendi making, micro-business, handicrafts such as flower making, candle making, ceramic pot making, crochet laces making etc. They can make beautiful and artistically crafted things using materials that are easily available to them in their surroundings. The classes are held during the vacations and during festival season. Sessions in life skills and micro-business sessions are held regularly to prompt the students and encourage them to achieve financial independence through selfemployment. Some computer courses were also arranged at our center for local community kids. Mehendi Class was initiated on 18 th April 2015 and went on for one month. Embroidery making course: Embroidery making class which was supported by Inner Wheel Club of Chembur was initiated on 1 st February 2016 and was attended by 20 students. Jewellery making course Jewellery making course was initiated on 1 st January 2016 and was attended by 20 students. This was also supported by Inner Wheel Club of Chembur. 17

20 Respite Care givers Course: This was held from 20 st Feb 2015 to 1st June 2015 with a batch of 20 students. This programme was sponsored by ACC ltd. Total duraction of course was 3 months. For two months theory was taught and for a month, they were placed in the local hospital for practical experience. They have been trained for basic nursing care skils, yoga, exercise, soft skills, basic mental health care, etc. The hospitals have absorbed almost 50% trainees. Others were placed 10% trainees were placed for home based care for elderly. Courses supported by MCED: All the trainees received Rs. 1000/- from the Govt. of Maharashtra after completion of the following courses which were supported by MCED. Tailoring and fashion Designing course: This was held from 1/9/2015 to 1/ 10/ 2015 with 30 students. Jewelry making course: This was held from 27/10/2015 to 30/11/2015 with 23 students. 2 nd Batch of Respite Care givers Training: This was held from June to Aug 2015 with 20 students. DTP Batch: This was held from 15/12/15 to 21/01/ With 29 students. 18

21 OUR IMPACT The following case studies showcases how our team tackled and solved the problems faced by the members of our society who came to us asking for help. CASE STUDY 1 Ganesh Dethe, is 75 year old senior citizen. He used to stay with his family at Matunga Labour Camp after his retirement. After his son s marriage, there were constant disputes in his family. So they went to their village. But few days later his health deteriorated, so they come back to Mumbai. After reaching Mumbai, their daughter-in-law again started misbehaving and constantly was threatening them. Due to poor age, less exposure, reduced physical capacity, they couldn t do anything, though the house was in their own name. Police was not taking any strict action. Their daughter-in-law started physical abuse too. So Mrs. Dethe approached us for intervention. We invited their daughter-in-law for counselling. She refused to come. We have then sent the legal notice to his son to vacate the house. Our paraprofessional visited the daughter-in-law at their house and did counselling. Since then she behaved properly later on. Thus the optimum pressure helped to resolve the matter. CASE STUDY 2 Kriti Gangawane, is a 35 year old lady. She could not take education after 8 th standard. After marriage she was going through financial constraints. Her husband was short tempered and used to abuse her. We have offered her to join Respite Care Givers Course. Immediately after training, one of the ACC Ltd s employee needed help to look after their more than 80 year old uncle and Aunty. Kriti got that job with salary of 10,000/-. Now she is a financially independent person. 19

22 CASE STUDY 3 Sandhya Dethe is working with Shield Foundation since Due to lack of proper education, she was jobless and was doing survey work sometimes for the health posts. But there was no certain income for her. She joined our organization for Skill Development course. During this course, we realized her domestic problems and inquired whether she can join us as a paid volunteer. She immediately joined us. We have provided her with on-job skill training for Paraprofessional for NGO. She is still working with us and has been actively involved in raising the service standard of the organization. We are proud of her, as community organizations, from Matunga Labour Camp, where our centre is located, has felicitated her recently with an Award for her dedication and service for the cause of underprivileged through Shield Foundation. We consider it as a success of our organization s skill development training. CASE STUDY 4 Pushpa Jadhav, a 36 years old widow, was staying with her son in her maternal home. She had studied upto 9 th grade and had no work experience. She started visiting our organization for accommodation just like Sandhya Dethe. One day she was constantly shedding tears and told us that she did love marriage. After marriage, she realized that her husband is a spoiled person and has been engrossed in bad habits. He sold out all her jewellery given by her parents in the marriage. He even sold out their house bought by her brother for them. In addition to this he also had extra marital affair. Due to these reasons they had frequent fights. One day he realized his mistakes and he attempted suicide. Due to love marriage, they were not staying with his parents. So then his parents refused to take her responsibility, she returned to her maternal family, but was very upset for being extra load on the family. She was lacking with self-respect. So that day we took her up for on job skill training for paraprofessional. We provided training for health related projects. During this period, we paid her honorarium for her work. With this experience, she got the well paid job at the well-known organization SNEHA. She used to come to visit us. We were happy for her progress. But, unfortunately she was suffering from high B.P. and recently, she expired due to heart attack. It is very sad for her family and her son. As an organization, we are satisfied that when she was alive, we had given her an opportunity to live her life with dignity and respect. 20

23 DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH SERVICES PROJECT Report on the inaugural programme for the project Development of Comprehensive Health Services on the occasion of World Elders Day The programme was commemorated on 20 th Oct Chief Guest was Dr. Ranjeet Patil, Hon. Minister of State, Home. Guest of Honour was Dr. Suhasini Nagda, Medical Education Director, BMC. Special Guests were Mr. Vishnu Gaikwad, Area Councilor; Dr. Daksha Pandit; Dr. Sangita Pednekar, Prof. Dept. of Medicine; Dr. Bansode, HOD PSM; Dr. Shailaja Jaywant, Dept of Occupational Therapy. 21

24 In the beginning, Dr. Patil and other honorable guests worshiped the statue of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar with Garland and lightened the lamp. Dr Ranjeet Patil expressed that he has liked the project as it is for the benefit of underprivileged elderly and health is the major aspect for elderly. He appreciated the work done by the organisation for the betterment of senior citizens, and skill development in our 5 years span. Our NGO has reached out to 10,000 elderly in short span and provided individual services for more than 3000 elderly. Our organisation has provided vocational training for almost 1000 women. The work done through the multiple need-based services for elderly at no cost is very important, he added. 22

25 He also appreciated the skill development in nursing care assistance course initiated by our organisation, with which women are generating 10,000/- to 15,000/- per month and sustaining their families, even when they are single parents. The project had double impact: Senior citizens get good and authentic care giver; poor and destitute women are getting jobs. He also appreciated the contribution of Sion Hospital for the cause of elderly. He appreciated the work of Dr. Suhasini Nagda and other doctors, who are actually sensible and working for social cause while doing their jobs. Dr. Nagda also appreciated the initiative taken by Shield Foundation and LTMG hospital for the betterment of health of elderly. She added that she will always promote such projects for the elderly. 23

26 All the doctors from Sion Hospital who supported Senior citizens project of the organisation were felicitated on this occasion for their contribution for the social cause. Senior citizens above 80 year were felicitated by Dr. Nagada. Dr. Sangita Pednekar described the health problems of elderly and her willingness to contribute for the project for twice in a week. Mr. Vishnu Gaikawad, Area councillor, also appreciated the tireless work done by Shield Foundation since last 5 years. He added that he will support the organisation, whenever required. 24

27 Mr. Dicholkar, Secretary, Mumbai Region, Fescom requested Dr. Ranjeet Patil to look into the issue of Elder Abuse and Noise Pollution, as it is affecting the elderly the most. Dr. Ranjeet Patil summed up saying that Government will definitely support such an innovative work for the society, whether it is for the health, elderly or for skill development. 25

28 Quarterly Report of the Project Development of Comprehensive health Services for the senior citizens of Dharavi in collaboration with Sion Hospital Goal: Development of comprehensive health services, for the elderly. Objective: Training need assessment of health workers. To sensitize health workers over issues of elderly at various health posts at Dharavi Based on that, the development of module for geriatric health services To build the capacity of Health post workers to work on special issues of elderly. To develop a domiciliary geriatric services to those patients who are homebound. To identify the socio-educational/ demographic profiles as well as the health profile two way: establishment of geriatric clinics at Health Post areas Development of referral system To sensitize the community by conducting the sensitization workshops for the community people and other service providers. To form the area wise team along with the elderly for those respective localities to work on the issues concerned with elderly. 26

29 The project was initiated in the month of Nov Dean of LTMGH and LTMMC and all the concerned departments from LTMGH & LTMMC, who have showed their willingness for supporting the project like Dept. of Psychiatry, Dept. of Medicine and the Dept. of Occupational Therapy were informed about initiation of the project. As per the earlier discussion the project was supported by Dr, Nilesh Shah, HOD, Dept. of Psychiatry, and his team of 15 doctors and Dept. of Occupational therapy. Dr. Nilesh Shah and his team have provided all the necessary support for basic health assessments of all the senior citizens of Dharavi. Prof. Dr. Sangeeta Pednekar, Incharge of Geriatric OPD, Lecturer has also extended her support. Dr. Dharmendra Pande and their team also reached out in community for basic health assessments of senior citizens of Dharavi. November 2015: In this month the interview schedule is prepared for baseline survey. The interview schedule is prepared for basic data collection of senior citizens like their personal information, their economic status, their health status, their habits, their health needs etc. The data is collected from 300 elderly from Dharavi from localities like Matunga labour camp, Kunchikurvey nagar, Kumbharwada, Muslim Nagar etc. Data analysis is going on. Still unlike our earlier survey findings, health need is the primary requirement expressed by the senior citizens. Accordingly the planning for basic health check-up at different communities in Dharavi and Matunga Labour Camp and referral system is being done. December 2015 January 2016: The basic health check-ups were done at the localities: Matunga Labour Camp, Muslim Nagar, Kumbharwada, and Kamala Nagar. Every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, check-ups were arranged. Total 650 patients were evaluated by the doctors from the Dept. of Psychiatry, Dept. of Occupational Therapy and Dept. of Medicine. Every day free investigation for B.P, Blood Sugar, and Weight was being done for all the senior citizens. ECG is also being done at our centre for the recommended elderly. Patients with orthopaedic problems also scanned with bone densitometer. Medicines for cough cold, joint pains, diabetes, B.P, anti-allergic drugs, muscle relaxants, antibiotics, pain killers and multi-vitamins were provided for the senior citizens. We have identified 310 cases with high blood pressure, 25 patients with psychiatric illness, and 82 patients with diabetes. 50 patients were identified with orthopaedic problem, 7 elderly were identified with ENT problem, and 141 cases were investigated for Eye problems. Free spectacles were given for 31 elderly. Free spectacles were given for 38 elderly. 235 patients are referred to Medicine OPD for further investigation and treatment. The identified patients with orthopaedic problems are referred for intervention to occupational. 27

30 February 2016: The health cards are prepared with necessary information on health of a person. The information on the health card for every elderly is height, weight, BP, Sugar, Complaints, Diagnosis, treatment and referrals if any. The staff identifies needy elderly and gives them the health cards. On every visit beneficiaries brings the health cards, on which their previous history is available. Thus it is easy to keep their health record. Now we have 262 regular patients in our centre OPD. There are 242 new patients got the treatment. The doctors for this OPD are from Medicine Department. So now referrals at Sion Hospital for diagnosis and treatment are reduced. To provide decentralized services, the health check-ups are organized at Sai Mandir, Market Lane, Kamala Raman Nagar, Kasarwadi, Murugan Mandir etc. March 2016: On the occasion of International Women s Day, 8th March 2016, a program was arranged at Kasarwadi. 96 ladies attended the function. In this month, protien powder was distributed to 120 ladies. Ground nut and Jaggery was distributed to children. Sewing machines were distributed for ladies who have done the tailoring course at our centre. Knee belt, cervical belt, sticks, LS belt, crutches were given to 15 senior citizens. No. of patients who were diagnosed with several ailments during the health check-ups are: High B.P.- 68, Low B.P.-22, Diabetes-30, Orthopaedic problem-110, cough cold -15, eye problem-10, Multiple ailments-4. Total no of old patients are 148, total no of new patients are 111. Total no of patients Dr. Ranjeet Patil Minister of State for Home, Govt of Maharashtra: Shield Foundation is doing a quality work. It is because of their genuineness, they are getting support from the community and the BMC Hospital. Their skill development projects especially, for Respite Care Givers training is an innovative and useful for income generation. So they are getting success and good impact in this project. I wish them good luck. For such genuine organization, government will definitely extend the support. Dr. Daksha Pandit HOD, Dept. of PSM, Terna Medical College & Hospital, Mumbai: "I know Swati since last 12 years. She is a founder director of SHIELD an NGO working for elderly she is doing a commendable work. She is very sincere, hard-working & very enthusiastic with lot of patience. Her commitment is unmatched. I wish her success." Advocate Shashikant D. Naik Mulund, Mumbai Swati is a very brilliant Social worker providing help to women and children needing guidance in social matters, legal matters, solving family problems amongst family members including strained marital relations, councilling, etc. I have always offered my advices through her to the Social Institutes whom she represented regarding the matters given above. She conducts camps, lectures, seminars, Question- Answer sessions regarding the above topics. She is a qualified MSW 28

31 Referral Services at LTMGH & LTMMC: For referral services, all the patients were referred to Sion Hospital. Paraprofessional from the organization takes all the needy/ single / destitute and referred patients to Sion Hospital for further investigation. Department of Medicine: As per the earlier discussion, all the patients were referred to LTMGH for further investigations, diagnosis and treatments. For the physical health related issues, identified cases are referred mainly to Dr. Sangita Pednekar, Incharge- Geriatric OPD No 6, on Wednesday at Sion Hospital. Dr. Dharmedra Pande and their team of Doctors from OPD No. 6 supported us for all the cases for the required investigations like blood check-up, Ultrasound, X ray etc. at the respective department in the hospital. Department of Psychiatry: Senior citizens with psychiatric complaints of sleeplessness, anxiety, depression, Dementia were referred to the Dept. of Psychiatry at Sion Hospital. Dr. Nilesh Shah, HOD, Department of Psychiatry and his team of doctors has provided support for the project in crisis situation for medical assessments of the patients. Department of Occupational Therapy: Dr. Shailaja Jaywant and her team is providing assistance for exercises for senior citizens every day. On Fridays, special consultations are made available for senior citizens with orthopedic problems. The list of Doctors supported for the Assessments of an elderly patients at various community sites: Prof. Dr. Sangita Pednekar: In charge, Geriatric OPD, Dept. of Medicine, LTMGH & LTMMC Lecturer, Dr. Dharmendra Pande: Geriatric OPD, Dept. of Medicine Team of Dept. of Psychiatry: Team of 15 doctors supported for health checkup and community outreach. 29

32 Observations & Learnings: Sometimes it is difficult for senior citizens to walk even for 10 minutes, so instead of having basic assessment at our centre, we have arranged medical check-ups at various nearby locations. It was also observed that senior citizens require free medicines The project was appreciated and supported by the above mentioned team of Sion Hospital. Being the implementing organization, we have learnt that almost all needy elderly require constant medication and are required to take to Sion Hospital, as and when needed for diagnostic tests and to decide intervention plan, therefore separate van booking is necessary to take senior citizens for check-up at Sion Hospital on OPD days from all the clusters of Dharavi. Currently we are mobilizing needy and destitute elderly for consultations at Medicine OPD with the help of cabs. It was observed that though the doctors are sensitized for senior citizens, and treat elders with care and empathy, the class 4 staff is less sensitive; so sensitization workshop for ward boys and nurses is needed to be arranged. All the diagnostic tests, are not being done in one building therefore, elderly are roaming around from one building to another at various floors and gets frustrated, therefore request for having all the check-ups on one floor or else at least in the same building is required to be given to higher authorities at Sion Hospital. There is separate window for senior citizens at Sion Hospital, which is there but window person is giving paper to those having age proof, which is correct but the underprivileged senior citizens with less qualification and exposure, find it difficult to tell their own age and even do not carry such proofs and sometimes they do forget to bring it to hospital. So their sensitization is required at community level for seniors. NGO is helping them out for preparing their required documents. For easy referral and follow up service, we have developed Referral Medical Cards for senior citizens for proper monitoring of their health Hospitalizations: During check-ups 9 patients found with very high BP were referred to Casualty. Then they were immediately admitted to Medicine ward. They are now under treatment 30

33 JOIN US Volunteer with us We welcome students and professionals as volunteers. We have dedicated resources to help guide you in designing a project in areas such as communications, research, public health, financial strategy and other topics to match your skills. Fund a cause We invite you to contribute to these suggested activities targeting low income elderly citizens in Dharavi. Provide three legal counselling sessions to an elderly person facing a legal challenge (property ownership, will declaration, etc.) Run a weekly memory and mental wellbeing clinic for one month Sponsor daily yoga sessions for one month Fund a cataract surgery Sponsor one month s supply of groceries and medical care Purchase aid/equipment Walker Eyeglasses Hearing aid Crutches To make a donation, please contact us to send a check payable to Shield Foundation. Partner with us Shield Foundation partners with corporations on CSR initiatives including strategic philanthropy, event sponsorship, employee volunteer opportunities and in-kind support. Please contact us for more information. 31

34 SHIELD Foundation, C/O Tarun Bauddha Krida Mandal, Ambedkar Rd, Matunga Labour Camp, Dharavi, Mumbai Tel: Mobile: Also visit us at: Website: Facebook Page: BLOG: Picasa: