Sri Om Care makes life worthwhile for Indian aged and seniors

Copy of Sri Om Care's Pennant Hills Day Therapy Centre

By Neena Badhwar

Sri Om Care Foundation held its celebrations during the Seniors Week as Mr Jay Raman, vice president says, “Now we are running Senior Day therapy Groups with around 400 seniors from 7 locations at Pennant Hills, Wentworthville, Parramatta, Toongabbie, Blacktown, Auburn, Chester Hill and Seven Hills.”

Jay Raman describes these Day Therapy Centres as hubs attended by around 25 seniors as per council regulations who come for a four-hour session of yoga, art and craft activities, social activities which include games, cards and singing. “We try to help these seniors who are home-bound and have a great need to get out and meet and get attention they deserve. We also look into their medical issues and try getting them help with free consults from doctors who are willing to provide free volunteering services and for seniors who have Australian citizenship we help them with referrals through medicare and get them in touch with specialists to do with their specific medical problems.”

Jay Raman, while qualified himself in Health & Aged Care, Aged Counselling and Medical Terminology,  has qualified aged care co-ordinators appointed in these therapy centres  who know all the rules and regulations of the government to do with seniors and the aged. “Each centre has two co-ordinators ”“ one qualified and another who volunteers like Mr Jagadish Chaudhary at Pennant Hills teaching yoga at Pennant Hills as he is a trained Yoga teacher having trained with Bhartiya Yog Sansthan, India.”

This great work done by Sri Om and Jay Raman is not just a simple get together at a council venue, it involves a lot of planning, logistics to oversee the frail and the aged of Indian community and give them an experience of having a day out, feel positive about themselves and also take care that the seniors with weak bodies, medical problems, some walking with help of walking sticks and walkers get to enjoy some social moments and be able to connect and form friendship bonds in their aging years.

While Jay Raman, in Pennant Hills meeting,  is busy overseeing the activities making sure that chairs are in place, that the seniors are comfortable and has young Shweta Sharma serving the food. Santosh Verma, an active senior and mother of ”˜Maya Da Dhaba’s Ajayraj has generously provided the food. On the day members are provided a session on yoga by Jagadish Chaudhary who has become quite popular with young and the old as he also takes yoga lessons at the IABBV Hindi school in Thornleigh West Public school every Sunday.

Senior members of the Om Care Foundation sit with Mr Chaudhary who does an hour-long yoga session for which the members have laid yoga mats on the floor some  manage to sit on the floor and do the gentle exercises as he prompts while others sit on the chairs and do the exercises. Says Jay Raman, “We even get seniors from other nationalities who join us and take part in yoga session as they know that it is good for them. They love our simple Indian food. We have had seniors of Chinese and Japanese origin living locally come to our sessions. We invite all and not just restrict ourselves to only the Indian community.”

Copy of yoga

Jagadish Chaudhary taking yoga classes at Pennant Hills

After the yoga session all are relaxed as they sing bhajans, songs, ghazals and even crack jokes.

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Sri Om Care is doing great work and we see Jay Raman who is also the Chairperson of Migrants Resource Centre Auburn, Committee member in Auburn Council Community Development and contributes to the cause in various capacities that TIDU has not enough space to cover, was quite happy even cooking for the seniors if people providing food were busy elsewhere, “It took me two hours to cook Dhal and rice but now I concentrate on either visiting these 7 centres or spend time overseeing the operations as there is a lot of work involved at the back like sending emails, writing letters and asking for services that our Indians seniors deserve to get here like any other aged local Australian.”

Though he admits, “It has been quite an uphill task but its worth it.”

 

 

Sri Om Foundation Operates Day Centres at following venues & days :

  1. First Saturday of the Month               at Parramatta Library building, Macquarie Street, Parramatta.

This is run together with SEWA Australia

Remaining following centres are managed by Sri Om Foundation

 

  1. Last Sunday of the month                       At Blacktown

 

  1. 3rd Monday of the month                         At Auburn Community Centre, Macquarie Road, Auburn
  2. 2nd and 4th Monday                                                   At Pennant Hills Library Hall, Ramsay St, opp. Pennant Hills Railway Station

 

  1. 1st and 3rd Wednesday                                     At Toongabbie community Centre, Targo Road, Toongabbie

 

  1. Every Friday of the month                     At Uniting Church Hall, Cnr Mckenzie BVLD and Nippigon Road,

Seven Hills

Short URL: https://indiandownunder.com.au/?p=2229