Saturday, November 14, 2009

World Diabetes Day - 14th November





World Diabetes Day – November 14


Diabetes is a condition where in the body does not produce enough insulin or produces ineffective insulin leading to an increase in blood sugar levels.

What do the recent statistics say?

India, China, US in the order is the top three countries having the largest number of Diabetic population. India has been termed as the ‘DIABETIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD’. Statistics reveal that there are approximately 33 million adults with diabetes in India. This number is likely to increase to 57.2 million by the year 2025. People dread this disorder and some have the trouble of accepting that they have diabetes and making the required modification in their lifestyle. These problems arise if you do not know the facts about Diabetes. Here are some of the FAQ which will help to bust certain myths and make you aware of the facts.

How do I know if I have Diabetes?

The early stages of diabetes have very few symptoms, so you may not know you have the disease. Symptoms of diabetes may include the following:

· Extreme thirst

· Extreme hunger

· Frequent urination

· Sores or bruises that heal slowly

· Dry, itchy skin

· Unexplained weight loss

· Blurry vision

· Unusual tiredness or drowsiness

· Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet

· Frequent or recurring skin, gum, bladder or vaginal yeast infections

Screening is usually done with a blood test. Blood test during fasting as well as after having meals (post prandial) would be a good indicator to find out whether a person is diabetic or not. Fasting blood sugar for a normal person should be between 80-125mg/dl.

Some of you may say, “I am just 30+ yrs old; I will not get Diabetes, so why should I worry about it now?”

More and more young people between the ages of 30-45 are becoming prone to Diabetes. It is no longer a disease for the aged! The main reason being changes in lifestyle pattern i.e. major deviations in diet; decreased physical activity due to improved transportation and availability of energy-saving devices; a high level of mental stress associated with modernization. So if you have any two of the risk factors like a family history of Diabetes, overweight, a sedentary lifestyle accompanied by stress then you are more likely to end up having high blood sugar levels. So keep a tab on the risk factors and get yearly health check up done.



Some of you may say, “My parents are Diabetic; I will get the disease anyway, so in what way I can prevent this by taking precautions?”

If you follow a healthy lifestyle like having a well balanced diet with good amount of exercise every day, try to maintain your body weight in the normal range and also know how to handle stress then chances are that you might end up not having Diabetes at all or at least delay the onset of the disease.

Some may ask a question, “I am taking medications for Diabetes; my sugar levels are well controlled, I avoid sugar wherever possible; then what should I do more on diet/exercise?

Managing Diabetes most effectively involves a three prong approach…., Diet, exercise and medications. This goes a long way in preventing fluctuations in blood sugar levels and also in preventing the complications. Good news for recently diagnosed diabetics! You can maintain blood sugar levels without popping any pills! This is possible by following a healthy and well balanced diet along with some exercises. Those who are not careful about their diet may end up taking more and more drugs or taking more units of insulin which is a huge strain not only on your purse but also on your overall health. Consulting a team of professionals would help you to manage Diabetes in a controlled manner, minimizing its complications.

Let me tell you now, “What precautions should you take to prevent Diabetes?”

The main risk factors for the onset of Diabetes can be divided into two parts – modifiable and non-modifiable.

· Non-modifiable include – high racial susceptibility to Diabetes and family history of Diabetes

· Modifiable include – unhealthy eating habits, sedentary lifestyle, overweight and central obesity, high stress levels

Modifiable risk factors are in your hands! You need to take precautions against them and ensure that you can delay/prevent the onset of this disorder.

So are you motivated enough to do what it takes to prevent Diabetes?

Do you want to know the best way to prevent Diabetes?

Do you want to know how to take the first step towards the prevention?

Are you worried about the health of your family and want to safe guard it?

The slogan of World Diabetes Day 2009 is “Understand Diabetes and Take Control”

Prevention is lot more economical than the cost of recovery!

So what are you waiting for? Act now. If you want Health Managers to help manage your Risk….Contact us to take the first step towards good health!

Courtesy: 2mpower Health Management Services Private Ltd.
#658, 17th D Main, 6th Block, Near Koramangala Club, Koramangala, Bangalore-560095
Phone: +91 80 4143 5601/02, Email: health@2mpower.in, Website: http://www.2mpower.in/
 
 
Omashram Trust, 850, 5th Cross, 11th Main, Vijaya Bank Colony, Bilekahalli, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560 076, INDIA. Phone: 080-26581682 Mobile:9845567663


Website: http://www.omashram.org/

Omashram blogs
http://oldagecare-paimohan.blogspot.com/
http://omashram.wordpress.com/
http://omashram.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
http://mohanpai.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
http://geetaoldagecare.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Help us help the helpless elderly

In the evening of
their lives, abandoned
by their near and dear ones...




Help us help them.
(there are 35 helpless, abandoned elders at Omashram)



Help us help the helpless elderly.

Omashram Trust is a charitable trust founded in the year 2001 with the objective of providing care and succor to the old. At Omashram Old Age Home we have 35 old, abandoned souls being cared for.

The trust is now into the ninth year of its existence. The past eight years have been years of struggle and considerable odds to keep this fledgling institution afloat. We have been able to continue to do this good work through the benevolence extended by kind-hearted, altruistic individuals and corporate donors alike.

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

At present the facility is housed in three separate rented premises all located nearby in the Vijaya Bank colony, Bilekahalli, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore South. At present there are 35 residents. Unfortunately, this is the maximum capacity of the facility without cramming.

It takes Rs. 5,000/- per month for us to ensure good health and food for one elderly individual in our Ashram. We invite all individuals who feel strongly for our cause to come forward and extend their support by donating in cash or kind or by sponsoring one resident of the Ashram.

Mohan Pai,
Founder & Chairman,
Omashram Trust, Bangalore


All contributions to Omashram Trust are exempt under section 80G of the IT Act.

Cheques/DDs may please be made in the name of “Omashram Trust, Bangalore” at the address given below.
Direct credit may also be made into the account of Omashram Trust at ICICI Bank, 16th Main,
BTM Layout, II Stage, Bangalore 560 076.  A/c No. 029701004820 Bank Code: ICICI0000297

For foreign contributions:
Omashram Trust
Sb A/c No. 2433101006399 Code No, CNRB0002433
Canara Bank, BTM Layout Branch, Bangalore 560076


Help us help the helpless elderly.

Become a member and lend
a helping hand.


This request is being sent to you as you are a friend and well-wisher of ours with a deep concern for the care of the elderly. At Omashram Old Age Home we have 35 old, abandoned souls being cared for. By becoming a member, you will be endorsing your concern in a positive way. Please opt for any one of the following memberships:

1. Patron Member One-time contribution: Rs. 1,00,000/-

2. Life Member One-time contribution: Rs. 10,000/-

3. Ordinary Member Annual contribution: Rs. 500/-

Patron Member & Life Member can choose a day on which a lunch will be hosted for the residents of Omashram once a year. There will be an annual get together for the local members at Bangalore. Local members can also celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, etc. with the elders at Omashram.

Please fill in the following coupon and mail it to us along with your payment. You can also directly credit the amount into our bank account. Your contributions for this cause are also exempt under section 80 G of the IT Act.

Blessings from the elders at Omashram.

Mohan Pai
Founder & Chairman.
Bangalore.

MEMBERSHIP COUPON


Name:______________________________________________Address_______________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Phone:

Membership opted for: Patron/Life/Ordinary
Payment made by Cash/Cheque/DD/ in the name of Omashram Trust, Bangalore.

Amount__________________________________Bank:_________________________________

Direct credit may also be made into the account of Omashram Trust at ICICI Bank, 16th Main,
BTM Layout, II Stage, Bangalore 560 076.  A/c No. 029701004820 Bank Code: ICICI0000297


Date:                                                                                                             Signature



An appeal to our benevolent friends & donors

Please be a host and sponsor breakfast or lunch for the old, abandoned folks
at Omashram Old Age Home and be ‘Annadata’.
 
  You can show your positive support for the care of the old by sponsoring one-time breakfast, lunch, or a whole-day meal (Breakfast, lunch & dinner) for 35 elderly at Omashram under “Annadata” scheme.

You can contribute towards any one of the following:

Breakfast: Rs. 2,000/-
Lunch: Rs. 4,000/-
Whole-day meal: Rs. 7,000/-

The Elderly at Omashram will be thankful & bless you for your act of kindness to them. If you are in Bangalore, you could join in the repast that you would be sponsoring for the old folks..

Blessings from the elders at Omashram.

Mohan Pai
Founder & Chairman,
Omashram Trust, Bangalore


Contact us:
Omashram Trust, 850, 5th Cross, 11th Main, Vijaya Bank Colony, Bilekahalli, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560 076, INDIA. Phone: 080-26581682 Mobile:9845567663 email: info@omashram.org
 
Website: http://www.omashram.org Blogs: http://oldagecare-paimohan.blogspot.com/
http://omashram.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm http://mohanpai.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
http://geetaoldagecare.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm

Thursday, November 5, 2009

An appeal to our benevolent friends & donors


Please be a host and sponsor breakfast or lunch for the old, abandoned folks at Omashram Old Age Home and be  ‘Annadata’.
 
You can show your positive support for the care of the old by sponsoring one-time breakfast, lunch, or a whole-day meal (Breakfast, lunch & dinner) for 35 elderly at Omashram under “Annadata” scheme.

You can contribute towards any one of the following:
Breakfast: Rs. 2,000/-
Lunch: Rs. 4,000/-
Whole-day meal: Rs. 7,000/-

The Elderly at Omashram will be thankful & bless you for your act of kindness to them. If you are in Bangalore, you could join in the repast that you would be sponsoring for the old folks.

Blessings from the elders at Omashram.

Mohan Pai
Founder & Chairman,
Omashram Trust, Bangalore


All contributions to Omashram Trust are exempt under section 80G of the IT Act.

Cheques/DDs may please be made in the name of “Omashram Trust, Bangalore” at the address given below.
Direct credit may also be made into the account of Omashram Trust at ICICI Bank, 16th Main,
BTM Layout, II Stage, Bangalore 560 076
A/c No. 029701004820 Bank Code: ICICI0000297


Contact us:


Omashram Trust, 850, 5th Cross, 11th Main, Vijaya Bank Colony, Bilekahalli, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560 076, INDIA. Phone: 080-26581682 Mobile:9845567663 email: info@omashram.org
Website: http://www.omashram.org/

Omashram blogs
http://oldagecare-paimohan.blogspot.com/
http://omashram.wordpress.com/
http://omashram.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
http://mohanpai.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
http://geetaoldagecare.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

And I cried...

I am reproducing below a very touching article ‘And I cried…’ by Atul Mathur who visited an Old Age Home - Care2Care.

We admitted a 84 year old frail & sick lady last Sunday (1/1/09) at Omashram Old Age Home abandoned by her children. And another lady 93 year old whose children themselves had become old and found it difficult to look after her at home Our story is the same. The caretaker in Omashram story is ‘Geeta Didi’ , co-founder of Omashram Trust who has been selflessly caring for these unfortunate souls for the past 9 years.

And I Cried ...

An article by Atul Mathur


CARE2CARE, 01-11 -2009 14:29:

I happened to meet Dr Mona Kapur in the Face to Face party. As she runs an NGO it was my wife’s desire to meet her so that we also could do something for humanity....some service to mankind...in some miniscule way.....its the ‘drops of water’ that make an Ocean don’t they.... we thought.

Our desire led us to Mona ‘Didi’ (I can never call her Mona Kapur any longer..she is ‘Didi’ surely..a ‘godly’ sister not only to me but to the complete community that makes up her NGO)..We were at her home day before yesterday from where the Care 2 Care foundation is run. The Care 2 Care foundation runs numerous social service programmes which include programs for women empowerment, for the aged , for orphans and the underprivileged, for the differently abled and many more.

Sush, my wife, had told me many a time that she wants to look after the ‘elderly’ / the ‘aged’. She did feel compassion for orphans and the underprivileged, but it was for the aged that Sush felt a strong desire to serve. Her reasoning was ...the ‘orphans’ probably had not seen life yet...and they still had life ahead to look forward to....but the elderly...the one’s who probably had seen happier days, people who had probably sacrificed many a thing for their wards..now ‘shunned’ by their near and dear one’s, simply surviving and waiting for the ultimate destination. Should they not be the recipient of ‘love’ in this phase of their lives ...something which they too surely must have sprinkled along the way as they grew up.

While at Mona Didi’s place, we were informed about the NGO and all the work that they undertook, by Dinesh...tea was served by Urvana..(God Bless you both...Mona Didi is surely privileged to have both of you with her). The conversations led us to be shown the video of the ‘Old Age Home’ run by Care to Care...

Elderly faces propped up one by one on the laptop, each with its own sad tale...

-An elderly man who had done MA (Hons) English in 1965, abandoned by his children at the station, with the promise that they would be back to plan his Teerth Yatra’..never to return

-An elderly women who kept saying ‘Mere liye Heere kee chain zaroor laana...

-An elderly man who would stretch his arms as if to beg on seeing anybody...(Probably had been forced to beg for ages)

-A women who would tell her address somewhere in Laxmi Nagar...but who remembered nothing else.

Stories..Tales..Stories...70 elders..70 different stories. Elders with no control on their body functions...elders suffering from Alzhiemer’s... ..elders with total memory loss....elders who would continuously cry...

Amidst this I saw Mona Didi hugging them, trying to cheer some of them up. Life had not lost meaning for them.

A 90+ (98 I am told) year old women who was fond of dancing, was motivated enough to get up and dance. The ‘Nepali Baba’ another resident of the Home danced along. The ‘pallu’ of the women never slipped. She was continuously conscious of how her saree was draped. The ‘Nepali Baba’ tried to touch her....the women tapped his hand away and felt shy as any other 16 year old would...Whenever the 98 year old lady felt tired she would squat/ sit...but her zest for life made her stand again and dance. And even finally when she lay on her bed, she began the ‘Nagin’ dance....What a lady...At 98, so full of life...how could someone throw her away..?

I wondered at life’s paradox. Me a man who ‘yearned’ for parents love (both my parents are no more) did not have them...and here I saw people who had their parents and did not want them...

Another ’old’ lady equally motivated was all ready to get her pictures clicked. She was conscious enough to tidy up her dress, but never did believe that the photograph had been taken till the camera flashed...Technology had moved

forward, but her brain probably had come to a stand still at a certain period in time...

The video whirred....our feelings stirred....

I am never without a handkerchief. That day, I had thought that I would send Sush in to meet Dr Mona Kapur and I would wait outside. It was she who wanted to work for the NGO was it not? I had dressed up in a hurry, trousers, shirt et all....Identity cards, purse, mobile all kept....handkerchief however conveniently forgotten. How was I to know that I would be watching the video too...a video that would stir emotions to such an extent.

Every story ...every face in that video was bringing a tear in my eye...Control, Control....you are a Man...I thought.

As the 98 year old lady danced and I saw her zest for life, and my mind wandered to the thought that how she had been abandoned...and also when I saw her feeling shy as a 16 year old when Nepali Baba lunged forward to touch her...I knew I was losing control. But how could I show tears to all present ..No..I just could not.

I don’t know if any one noticed. My hands , reached for my pocket to search for the handkerchief. I could always use it and say something went in my eye...

My hands searched my trouser pocket ...the car key...it was there,....the pamphlet of Care to Care it was there...the mobile phone it was there...No Hanky..God help!

A tear then simply rolled out of my eye...And I cried...

Happy Diwali to all the inmates of this Old Age Home!!!!

Mona Didi ..Sush and I are now permanently attached with your NGO. You may utilize our services whichever way and whenever you want!!!! .










Mohan Pai
Founder & Chairman,
Omashram Trust

Contact us:

Omashram Trust, 850, 5th Cross, 11th Main, Vijaya Bank Colony, Bilekahalli, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560 076, INDIA. Phone: 080-26581682 Mobile:9845567663 email: info@omashram.org
Omashram blogs:

http://oldagecare-paimohan.blogspot.com/
http://omashram.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
http://mohanpai.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
http://geetaoldagecare.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm