UK charity starts home-care service for elderly Dhaka people
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Sir William Beveridge Foundation, a British charity, has launched its programme in Bangladesh by providing home care services to the vulnerable elderly citizens in their own houses through skilled and trained nurses free of cost.
Disclosing this to the BSS, Rahman Jilani, founder and executive director of the foundation, said changes in the world economic environment have been affecting Bangladesh.
As a result, he said people of middle, lower and fixed income groups in bigger cities and towns are failing to provide adequate health and social care support to their elderly parents and grandparents even within the extended family network.
"We like to provide daily home care services to their own houses. We are not asking vulnerable senior citizens to come to the service- rather trying to send the services to them," Jilani added.
Jilani said that initially the service is being provided in Malibagh, Motijheel, Shanti-nagar, Rajarbagh, Shahidbagh, Siddheshwari, Shantibagh, Gulbagh, Khilgaon, Shahjahan-pur and Goran areas in the capital. The ward commissioners send the names of the elderly citizens to the Foundation office with recommendations which are evaluated in the foundation by its own team.
The nurses are then sent to those households and talk to the family members as well as the elderly citizen and assess their requirements. "We got a tremendous response from the people," Mr Rahman Jilani, who is an MA from the Dhaka University, added.
He further said gradually the services would be spread across the capital in future.
William Henry Beverigde was born in Bengal (Bangladesh) in 1879. His father was a judge in the Indian Civil Service. His 1942 report heralded a new approach to the meaning of quality of life in Britain and it provided people with the means to improve their own lives.
"He is a great inspiration to me. I had always wanted to work with people and as social workers in East End of London for many years, I treated everyone as individuals." Jilani said.
I felt that my own original place of birth, Bangladesh was a good place to start. I know it is in great need and Beveridge's approach would make a difference to the quality of people's lives there.
The Foundation is also supporting the Moulana Bhasani Nursing Institute at Uttara in the city where students undergoing training are given special course on English so that they could be employed abroad.
Disclosing this to the BSS, Rahman Jilani, founder and executive director of the foundation, said changes in the world economic environment have been affecting Bangladesh.
As a result, he said people of middle, lower and fixed income groups in bigger cities and towns are failing to provide adequate health and social care support to their elderly parents and grandparents even within the extended family network.
"We like to provide daily home care services to their own houses. We are not asking vulnerable senior citizens to come to the service- rather trying to send the services to them," Jilani added.
Jilani said that initially the service is being provided in Malibagh, Motijheel, Shanti-nagar, Rajarbagh, Shahidbagh, Siddheshwari, Shantibagh, Gulbagh, Khilgaon, Shahjahan-pur and Goran areas in the capital. The ward commissioners send the names of the elderly citizens to the Foundation office with recommendations which are evaluated in the foundation by its own team.
The nurses are then sent to those households and talk to the family members as well as the elderly citizen and assess their requirements. "We got a tremendous response from the people," Mr Rahman Jilani, who is an MA from the Dhaka University, added.
He further said gradually the services would be spread across the capital in future.
William Henry Beverigde was born in Bengal (Bangladesh) in 1879. His father was a judge in the Indian Civil Service. His 1942 report heralded a new approach to the meaning of quality of life in Britain and it provided people with the means to improve their own lives.
"He is a great inspiration to me. I had always wanted to work with people and as social workers in East End of London for many years, I treated everyone as individuals." Jilani said.
I felt that my own original place of birth, Bangladesh was a good place to start. I know it is in great need and Beveridge's approach would make a difference to the quality of people's lives there.
The Foundation is also supporting the Moulana Bhasani Nursing Institute at Uttara in the city where students undergoing training are given special course on English so that they could be employed abroad.