ABOUT JYOTI FOUNDATION
Jyoti Foundation has envisioned of elderly home at the heart of Kathmandu, Nepal to serve the elderly poor who
needed shelter with love, affection, respect and comforts. Jyoti Foundation aims that these aged people should live happily in the eves of their lives.” The foundation was initiated as a result of vision and passion of Subha Rajbhandari, a native Nepali. Jyoti Foundation aims to provide services to meet the physical, mental, social and spiritual needs in a family care setting that is both emotionally and physically secure. Also, consultations with the family of the elderly residents with the goal of re-establishing healthy family bonds with the goal of involving families in the care of their elderly relatives. Jyoti foundation aims to bring awareness among the younger generation teaching them to respect and value the elderly and recognize their contribution in their lives.
Presenting, we are helping elderly in Kathmandu with basic needs such as food and medicines based on their individual need. The services have been carried out by our volunteers in Nepal with the donation that Jyoti Foundation receives from individual donors.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Subha Rajbhandari, founder and president of Jyoti Foundation,was born and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal. Her parents and grandparents have huge contributions to and in her life while growing up and up to now. She knows and have seen elderly suffer from abuses by their own families and yet, it is embarrassing for elderly to show that they are victim of abuse as they hide it from the society. She has visited old age home in Kathmandu while growing up in Nepal and on her visits to Nepal. She understands and feels how important it is for the elderly people to be around the family and be loved and respected at the eve of their life. She understands how we can give love, happiness and meaningful time at the eve of their lives. The elderly who finds living in family is a painful life due to neglect, discrimination and violence. The aspiration of the Jyoti foundation is to provide them with love and affection. Provide them with creative and dignified life. Older people need to live in dignity and pride with no exploitation, physical and mental torture.
Subha, believes that Senior Citizen Facilities are not a fancy but the dire necessities in our modern society, at present and more so in future.
ISSUE
In a universal family settings, the children are always expected to adore and glorify their parents and look after them with love and reverence. But in present modern era, one out of five old people, when they stop earning or sick or really invalid are neglected and finally thrown out of their houses. They are ripen into the burden by their own children and start dismissing the untainted things and sacrifices of their parents towards bringing them up and establishing them in their life.
The homelessness is entirely the result of social negligence and disconcern about what these old people actually require in the eves of their lives.
With the influence of family or social misery down the road to living and thinking as well as internal family politics, collapse in family ties is usual in our modern society. And unfortunately it is becoming more frequent among low and medium socio-economic communities.
GLANCE AT SENIOR CITIZENS IN NEPAL
Nepal’s total population is 23453019 out of which 1347868 are senior citizens with the growth rate of 2.4%. This population is 5.7% of the total population but there is no data available as at that states the actual percentage of the vulnerable people under this group. Populations in this group are vulnerable in physiological, psychological, economical, social and familial terms. However, we had consulted several old age people, organizations handling old age homes, concerned government authorities, social workers to verify these facts. It is estimated that about 17% of the total old aged people are in critical condition. Most importantly, the old age people from the so called lower castes are even more vulnerable due to cultural biasness and their poor economic status. The elderly people in Nepal spend their entire life to bring up their children. Cohabitation is the only guarantee that elderly parents will receive support from their adult children. The elderly depends on their children, particularly sons, for support and security at their old age. There is no special social and legal protection of elderly people at home and community. Elderly people are hidden within the family who do not get love and care when they are inactive and immobile. Poverty, inequality and exclusion are the key factors of deprivation in Nepal for elderly.