Omashram Old Age Home: The Story of an Angel & Her Abandoned Residents

This is not a story…

An old lady got both her legs amputated because of health reasons. Her son dumped

her in an old-age home. Reason: His wife refused to take care of her. For eight months, she stayed in the old-age home, weeping for her son and grandchildren. Eventually she passed away and her son was informed about her death. But he refused to take his mother’s body and asked the old-age home to donate her body instead to a nearby hospital. The old age home did not have a vehicle of their own, and so they took the body in an auto to a hospital and donated it.

Smt Geeta Shankar, the caretaker and Founder  Trustee of Omashram, is a Mother, Daughter, Daughter in law and Sister to 50-odd abandoned senior citizens, can hardly hide her contempt for the present generation who use-and-throw their parents. “If you have tears to shed, shed them for today’s senior citizens,” she says. “Typically today, parents sacrifice everything for their children who grow up, go to US or some other place abroad, and dump their parents in an old-age home. We have become so cruelly selfish today that we don’t even care for our parents.” She pauses to take control of her emotion and adds, “We are led to believe that you reap what you sow but do our senior citizens in the evening of their lives deserve such cruelty at the hands of their children?”

If you are a mother-in-law and of poor health, you will sooner than later find yourself in an old-age home as no daughter in law today is prepared to take care of her in-laws.

Anguished by the pain of such old parents, Geeta Shankar along with Founder & Chairman  Sri Mohan Pai started a charitable trust called Omashram in Vijaya Bank Colony, Bilekahalli, Bangalore in 2001. Undeterred by the passing away of Sri Mohan Pai, Geeta Shankar marshaled the Trust through various difficulties and challenges along with fellow Trustee- Prathana Unkalkar (Regional Head – East and South-I Volunteer), and today, Omashram is home sweet home to 50 abandoned senior citizens.

Narrating her experience over the years, Geeta Shankar says while her old age home enables its residents to lead a life of dignity in the evening of their life, she does not believe in counseling them. “They have gone through so much in their life that it is pointless to counsel them.”

Presently, the old age home is housed in three separate rented premises and Geeta Shankar is praying that the Government or some philanthropist will donate a piece of land so that she will not have to keep changing the premises. Already, the old age home had to be shifted thrice over the past 5 years.

In addition to taking care of senior citizens, Omashram also offers geriatric training in nursing for girls above 18 years of age from economically weaker sections who will be offered employment later in the old age home. Other facilities available include services of visiting physicians (to provide full medical checkup of new residents), visiting counselors and Yoga Trainer, apart from housing a fully equipped kitchen with full time cooks. The Trust is also sponsoring the Education of some local children which also includes the tribal children in the Nilgiris.

Omashram provides residential care with full boarding & lodging facility to the old with medical care nursing care to the old belonging mostly to poor & middle class individuals (above 60 years of age) of all denominations.

Omashram provides a homely atmosphere to all its residents inclusive of full boarding and lodging facility, personal laundry, nursing, library and common room facilities like TV, indoor games, Yoga classes, etc. Residents who are immobile/bedridden needing constant attention are provided extra and intensive care.

How You Can Contribute

It costs Rs. 6,000/- per month for the old age home to take care of one individual, and overall, Rs 3 lac per month.

Interested donors and patrons can support the trust in various ways:

• Donate Rs. 6000/- for sponsoring the care of 1 member for a month
• Donate Rs. 8000/- to feed all 50 members a day
• Donate in kind like rice, groceries, nappy pads, etc.
• Celebrate your special occasion like birthday, anniversary and so on  with the residents.
• Donate any amount starting from Rs. 200/- onwards up to Rs. 1000/- or more per  month through ECS facility and become a Patron of Omashram Trust.

All donations are exempted from Tax under section 80 (G) of Income Tax Act 1961. You can also avail  the FCRA Clearance.

Query Geeta Shankar on what she wants the most and she says, “I want all my residents to be received with affection and pride by their children and return to their homes.” That is not going to happen, and so she ploughs along, with more service-oriented plans to open a separate wing for housing orphan children, so as to form a happy family.

Her simple advice to people is: Make it a rule to never lie down at night without being able to say, I have made one human being at least a little wiser, a little happier or a little better this day. No act of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted.

The best way to begin following this is to donate to Omashram.

# 850, 5th A Cross, 11th Main, Vijaya Bank Colony, Bilekahalli, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore- 560 076 Tel: 9845567663,   26581682//41503305//64530629,.

www.omashram.org  E-mail: geeta@omashram.org , reachgeetashankar@gmail.com