Aging in Community Project in Sri Lanka

2nd Trip to Sri Lanka

Emichan — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:36:27 +0200

Due to the technical difficulity for uploading video clips with this web site, I decided to move the location of my Sri Lanka blog to the following. I hope you will enjoy the fresh look of my blog!

http://agingincommunityinsrilanka.blogspot.com/

My colleagues and I are going back to Sri Lanka for the 2nd phase of our research project.
We are conducting the participatory design session as well as meeting with several individuals who are involved in NGO in Colombo during our short trip.

Our concept plan and architectural plans are ready to be presented to raise local awareness regarding the serious need of elder care. We are also excited to learn more about the housing issues for elderly from the people in Sri Lanka.
Because elders in Sri Lanka are still well respected and traditional family care practice is kept today, I am very interested in learning both positive and negative issues related to the current elder care situation. It is our hope to gain deeper understanding of how we can contribute to help elders in Sri Lanka can age in community, and most importantly what we can learn from their traditional social value to improve our elders in the USA and Japan.

I will keep updated this blog when I have an internet access. I will try to post video clips if possible.

Sri Lanka Phase2

Emichan — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:09:01 +0200

After one year of preparation time, we are going back to Sri Lanka. We have a better idea about what is happening for aging in Sri Lanka now, and hoping to learn more and work together to make this project in practice this time.

Because of the political/social situation in Sri Lanka, we are not able to stay long. However, we are planning to accomplish our agenda to have:

     - participatory design process with local elders
     - meeting with government official and NGO respresentatives
   - finalizing the fund raising strategies
     - developing Architectural design plan and complete the bueget estimate for the construction cost with local architects

We still have long way to accomplish our mission to complete this project, but we are thrilled to pursue this challenge because we also strongly believe that this pilot project will provide us the great opportunities to start serious discussions about housing and care issue for elders in the global level at least with the people around us....

I will have more update for our project as we move forward....

Beauty of responsibility

Emichan — Fri, 30 May 2008 23:17:25 +0200

I spent almost three months in an nursing home for my research to evaluate the therapeutic role of plants for elderly residents in an long term care. I have brought many plants in the living room for residents to look after, and observed the impact of plants on the well being among participants. Through this study, I have met so many wise and kind residents, which made me extremely difficult to leave the site after the study.

Although I did not find the significant difference between before and after the plants were brought into the living room over eight weeks. I witnessed so many positive impacts on residents' everyday lives. The only concern and frustration for this type of study is that I needed to leave the plants and the friends behind due to the research protocol. I think about all the elders whom I met every single day, and sometime feel guilty that I cannot be there with them to put our hands into dirt together and just laugh. Two months after the resarch was completed, I have received an beautiful e-mail from a resident who was suffering from brain injury.

Hello Emi I am doing fine how are you ? How are things where you are? The plants we have from you are doing fine. I will be planting my garden box soon. Will probably put flowers in it. The snow is all gone and the trees and grass are all green. It is going to be 23 here today and 25 tomorrow and the next day, bet you find that hard to believe because we only had snow when you were here. My Mom is good and my girlfriend is fine.

(from I)

I imagine that it took for a long time for him to write this e-mail because his hands and fingers do not function well. This short message encouraged me to keep me going what I believe, which is regardless of age, physical function, and cognitive deterioration, everybody enjoys the opportunity to provide care for others. By doing so, people regain the sense of pride becasue they feel that they are useful for others. I hope that we can all live in a community that everyone can feel the sense of purpose to be useful/helpful to others by living together.

I may be able to grow plants easier and faster than him, yet I am sure that his plants will be much more beautiful and meaningful not only for him but also for me and his friends and family. This beautiful e-mail reminded me how caring and wise elderly residents in long term care facility are.

We have an ethical responsibility to care for elders as much as they do to us. We should be mindful about what we are given from elders every step of our lives. We will find tremendous love and wisdom that elders are constantly and patiently giving to us without expecting any reward everyday for many many centries, if we just learn to be mindful about our life...

Giving

Emichan — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 13:26:54 +0100

Everyone of us want to make a difference in our society, at least help someone in need. However, we are easily discouraged to take actions because we do not know where to start and what to do. Moreover, we tend to think that we do not have enough money to give to others. As a graduate student for a long time, I also struggle to find the way to give.

Although I do not have financial leverage to directly help others, I keep still seeking the way to help the people who I care very much.

"What can I do to honor elders who created the world I live in? What and How can I give?”

When I saw former president Bill Clinton spoke in a TV show, I realized that I should not try to make a big impact on people in the beginning. I can always start from somewhere I can do “something.” I realized that my voice would be strong if I truly believe in my passion. My contribution for honoring elders in the world could be to keep reaching out and informing people to see out world differently by writing and speaking anytime I have opportunities.

My message is this:
“We do not exist without our elders who happened to be ignored in our current society. We should re-think and appreciate what elders have done to create the world we are living in.”

We have enough for everyone if we decide to share with others. Although I do not have much to share with others, I still do have “something” to give. Giving does not have to be money or things. All of us can give “knowledge,” “skills,” “love,” and “understanding” to the person who is sitting next to you.

We are just a small group of people who would like to challenge the current elderly care system, and try to create a home within their community by sustaining their culture, lifestyle, and social connections.

We are dreaming the success of “Us Build a Home for Mothers and Fathers”

Together with people with good heart, skills, knowledge, and passion, we challenge to change the elder care from institution to community approach.

Please let me know if you would like to join us!

Doing the right thing to do

Emichan — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 20:26:10 +0200

Sometimes, I encounter a question from my friends that

“Why are you so passionate about improving elder care?”

Each time I tried to answer the question in a past, I always fail to articulate my feeling, although I knew that I had a strong motivation for this issue deep in my heart.

When I was in Sri Lanka eating curry with my friends, I suddenly had a strange feeling about why I was in an unfamiliar country to learn about elders’ lives. Then, I questioned myself why I am interested in elder care so much that I lived in a nursing home, coming to Sri Lanka , and studying almost ten years in graduate school that is far away from my family.

At that time, again, I still could not articulate my feeling, and was struggling to come up with an answer for myself until I encountered a scene in the movie “the freedom writers.”

In that movie, an elder woman, who helped Ann Frank during the Nazism era, came and spoke to high school students in the USA . When a student told her that she would be his HERO because of her noble and brave action to protect Ann Frank under the frightening situation, she answered to him that “I am not a HERO. I just did it because it was the right thing to do.”

Her comment brought me back the memory of talking to Jude and Bill Thomas for the first time. When I asked them why they chose the hard path to start the Eden Alternative, they said that “We are doing this because it is the right thing to do…”

It was such a great moment for me to realize myself the reason why I am doing what I am doing. It was clear that the simple concept of “doing the right thing,” has always been the guide for my path. Throughout my journey, I also learned that all the people in the culture change movement are the heroes because they are trying hard to “do the right things for elders”. Some people are nationally and internationally recognized as s “movers and shakers of culture change,” however, the real heroes are those who take care of elders in long term care facilities everyday.

I would like to always remind myself that every one of us can turn on a small right to make a brighter and better place for all of us to live together.

Lessons learned in Sri Lanka - 1

Emichan — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 11:30:03 +0200

Despite the limited access to elderly care services in Sri Lanka , most of the elders are able to live with their family at home. I was wandering why and how they can do this. Based on the interviews, site visits, and discussions with locals in Sri Lanka, I found that following are the factors which enable elderly people to age in their own home in the community in Sri Lanka . Unfortunately, accessibility issues are not yet addressed by any parties, while social policy report published by UN suggested for government of Sri Lanka to take immediate action.

Buddhism tradition (Respect elders, taking care of parents)
Dana (sharing and donation)
Not only family members, but also relatives and neighbours share responsibility of care
Inexpensive and easy access to bus transportation
Availability of different transportation bus, 3wheelers, train, riding bike

The detail of each factor will be discussed in the following blog entries.

I AM BACK

Emichan — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:37:47 +0200

(left:Our team members, right: Delicious Sri Lankan dishes at lunch)

I safely made it back to the US. This trip to Sri Lanka was quite a life changing experience for me in many ways.

The trip gave me a wonderful and unique opportunity to think about the “real meaning of happiness.” In modern societies, people are so exhausted because they need to work hard to earn money in order to purchase the things that other people have. Many of us may believe that having a nice car, a big house, or take luxury vacations will bring happiness to our lives. When we achieve these “things”, however, their value quickly fades away. Then, we start all over again; chasing more and better things to buy without knowing if they will ever bring happiness in our lives. Although these “things” may delight us, this pleasure is rather temporary and do not come with deep sense of satisfaction.

Despite the limited access to comfort, convenience, and financial resources in people’s life in Sri Lanka, I found that their lifestyles were so much more genuine and meaningful. Many people I met appeared to know that real happiness comes from inside, from the satisfaction that one gets from giving and sharing, honoring friendships, or being grateful about what one is given. The sense of happiness is not something that we can purchase. It may require a continual action of giving and sharing with others. People in Sri Lanka diligently find opportunities to share with others, even though some may only have very limited resources. This practice seems to help them find a meaning for their lives, and ultimately bring the sense of true happiness in their lives.

Throughout this trip in Sri Lanka, I was constantly looking for the reasons why elders are highly respected and being cared for by family members and neighbors at home. Among the many possible reasons, I believe is that their cultural values of “selflessness” and “sharing” may be the most important grounds upon which the supports for elders to age in place within the community is founded.

Again, my trip was wonderful, and I have learned so much from this experience. I hope my diary was somewhat helpful ….

Since I have learned so much about elder care issues in Sri Lanka this time, I will keep posting my thoughts as well as the progress of our design project in this blog space.

Lagoswatta Eco-Village

Emichan — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:52:24 +0200

My friend, Kapila, organized our visit to the Lagoswatta Eco-village which was built for the people affected by the tsunami. In this village developed by a charity organization called “Sarvodaya,” 55 houses are occupied by the individuals with various backgrounds. The village consists of residential houses, children’s playground, a multi-purpose community center including a small medical facility.

This village incorporates the ideas of:

Developing strong community ties among residents
Creating a sustainable living environment

Lagoswatta was built with the community's participation. Skilled workers, such as carpenters or masons provided their talents and new homeowners as well as people from the surrounding community contributed to build the houses. In order to develop the sense of community and help residents to be financially independent, Sarvodaya provides raw materials to start an organic farm and grow mushrooms and other crop. The harvested produce would be sold at the Friday's community market and the profit could be used to start small businesses such as bakery, general store, hair salon, etc…at the tsunami victims' s houses. Portion of the income from the businesses would be stored in the villagers’ association to help other villagers in need. This is how people are involved in the community and take ownership in governing their community.

This village also encourages the idea of sustainable lifestyle. Technologies, such as solar panel and water system were installed to provide resources, and each household utilize compost for managing their waist as well as for fertilizing organically grown products.

According to the executive director of Sarvodaya, he had concerns in two areas, creating an integrated community among the people from four different communities, and educating new homeowners who have never cultivated anything to buy into the new ecological life style. In order to solve these concerns, staff members were sent to the tsunami camp to educate and train the new homeowners before they moved in. New homeowners’ participation in the construction process was also strategically planned.

We have spent several hours for talking to people and walking around the community. While we were there, there were so many activities happening; children were running around on the street, elders were cleaning houses, and women were doing laundry. Many were willing to show their houses to us--these were small two bedroom houses usually occupied by 5 -7 people in three generations.

When I saw the smile in their face next to their small houses, I was puzzled by comparing what I saw to the current life style in developed countries. Do I see smiles in people’s face on the street next to the beautiful houses in suburban areas? Do I even see people walking on the street there? Do big houses make us happy?

….Can we purchase a sense of community?

It is something for us to really think about in our modern society.

I don't understand your question....

Emichan — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:05:12 +0200

As a part of this project, we are planning to do some renovations/ historic preservation work on a donated property in a rural area of Sri Lanka . This property belongs to the family of the landowner for generations, and he decided to keep the name and legacy of his family by using this land to offer social services to the people in the community. The house is located in a small village in the central part of Sri Lanka, so all of our team members spent 4 days at the site after driving 6 hours from Colombo . We measured the house, visited local elders’ houses in the neighborhood, and interviewed the elders during our stay.

When we were working in that house, many elders and children came in to greet us. Among the visitors, a 79 years old, former chief of the village gave us such an intriguing comments. When I asked him whether or not he thought young people in the village would be willing to help elders in need, he looked at me with strange look. Then, asked me to repeat the question, so I did.

The old man looked at me again, and said:

“I don’t understand what you are trying to ask me. Is it a question? Yes, young people will come and help.”

I was a bit embarrassed to realize that I was foolishly trying to understand the elder care situation of this village through the lenses my past experiences. The old man also said that it was a great idea to have an aged care in the vicinity, so that he can visit elders and help them. Other villagers also said that they would welcome aged care facility in the community so that they have opportunities to help elders.

Their comments made me realize how self-centered I have become…I have never thought that elder care facilities could be perceived as a place that provide opportunities for others to give. While the villagers are relatively poor, they definitely know the real meaning of “happiness” in life.

Is family caregiving easier in Sri Lanka?

Emichan — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 17:47:52 +0200

Left: 104 years old man is singing a traditional song for us

Right: a women's room in an aged care outside of Colombo

It takes so much effort to help elders to remain their own homes in our society today. I thought that some countries that respect elders may have easier situation for providing care at home with the help of others. However, the problems and concerns that family caregivers face everyday seem to be the same everywhere… Most of the elders in Sri Lanka are still taken care of by family, relatives, and neighbors. Moreover, due to the modernization and urbanization of our society, the concerns which are addressed by caregivers Sri Lanka are almost identical to the those in Japan and USA.

The main concerns of Sri Lankan are:

“Women have professional careers and do not have time to care for elders.”

“Children live in urban area due to their jobs, and it makes it difficult for them to care for their parents who prefer staying at their own homes in rural area.”

“There are not enough services available that benefit middle income Sri Lankan to care for their parents at home.”

“There is not enough space available for elderly parents to live in a small house.”

At this moment, people in Sri Lanka do everything they can do to take care of their own parents. While they mentioned how difficult it is to care for their parents at home, they also said "it is not easy, but we just have to find the way and do it. I cannot imagine anyone who can refuse to take care of their parents, becuase that is what we have to do."

In order to approach these issues, Sri Lankan should come up with their own solution. When we spoke to the social policy strategists, I felt that they would welcome the idea of providing long term care to elders who do not have family members with whom they could live. Since this country has such wonderful values of “always looking for the opportunities to help and share with others,” I hope that they will choose a different path in the future to avoid the problems that the United State and Japan have experienced through “institutional care,” which deeply disturbed social ties to family, friends, and communities as well as social roles and respect of elders.