New Year brings with it hopes and dreams for our future. A new beginning, a fresh perspective on how we look at our lives and how we want it to shape up for us, the kind of people we will turn out to be and whether we will achieve our goals which we set out for this year. While we are blessed to be surrounded by people we love and have most of the things that others can only dream of, we must always be grateful and also be kind and willing enough to share, our good fortune with those who really need it.

As we all know, January is the coldest month in the country and this year we have witnessed one of the coldest winters, as recorded in the last ten years. The snowfall in the north and the rainfall in most parts of the country have lowered the temperature. While some of us are blessed enough to have a roof over our head and warm clothes to shield us from the harsh weather, there are many who cannot afford even a warm meal or a blanket.

Every year so many people lose their life due to the harsh winters, especially elders who are too weak to work for their survival and are often found abandoned on the streets.  Winters can be really harsh for them, and while the young can work their way out, elders struggle to make ends meet.  In today’s time, when we are so focused on our own lives and consumed by our own troubles, it is difficult to see and acknowledge the struggle of others. While it is easy to ignore the misfortune of others, it takes only one minute to show kindness to someone who really needs it. It takes just one step towards changing someone’s life and making a difference.

In this fast moving world, we forget the people who helped us. As we grow old, often we don’t realize that our parents and grandparents are growing older with us, Those who helped us get where we are today. While some of our elders are blessed to have a family and home, many struggle to survive. There are about millions of elders who are abandoned and left to fend for themselves by their own kin and kind. Millions are living below the poverty line and working to simply survive with no provision for healthcare. The silver generation of our country is ignored and often forgotten. -This New Year, let’s take a step towards making a difference in the life of at least one elderly. You can create a difference by helping an elder live a life of dignity and freedom, by supporting them. Health has always remained the main struggle for elders, making it difficult for them to work and move around. But with your support, you can help these elders live with dignity and hope. –

HelpAge India runs an active healthcare program through its Mobile Healthcare Units providing basic healthcare to destitute elders and their community and conducts cataract surgeries across country, helping elders see again and as a result go back to earning their livelihood.  With your help and generosity, you can save an elder from losing their eyesight by contributing towards these cataract surgeries. One of the biggest challenges has been to provide sustained healthcare intervention for needy elderly especially those suffering from cancer. HelpAge India provides palliative care to cancer patients in partnership with hospitals and organizations. Thus, from cancer detection and treatment, our partners have been able to deliver quality cancer care for elders in need of such intervention, including home visits post cancer treatment along with counseling for the patient and family.  HelpAge also provides Physiotherapy for elders with musculoskeletal diseases such as back pain; arthritis and other age related mobility challenges.

Your contribution can save the lives of these needy elders and also encourage them to live a life of fulfillment and hope. Every penny counts and goes into helping these elders by adding value to their life. By choosing to help, you are not only helping them, but encouraging so many others to support the elder cause. It takes just one act of kindness to make a difference.

“Together we can change the world, just one random act of kindness at a time” – Ron Hall