Humans of Dementia - Jenet

 Jenet is a 37-year-old qualified social worker who has been taking care of Person with Dementia, Alzheimer’s for the past 7 years. In 2012, she was working with children who were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, but she was simultaneously also looking for a job opportunity. This is when in 2014, her journey as a caregiver with A1Snehanjali, assisted living elder care home, a project of Silver Innings, began.

Humans of Dementia - Jenet

In 2006, Jenet’s grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. This was the first time she encountered the condition and understood it. The diagnosis was a changing point in her life because she couldn’t fathom the fact that such a disease exists. However, in the process of taking care of her grandmother and looking after her, she learnt how important it is to be there for a person with Alzheimer’s. She recognized how important it is to tend to their needs and to let them know that there is someone to look after them.

As a professional, Jenet’s job begins at 9 in the morning and ends at 6 in the evening, but as a caregiver, she has a 24-hour job. She believes that there are no time boundaries for a job like this because the residents of A1Snehanjai require emotional care, which isn’t something that can be limited within fixed time periods. Her days are spent planning and managing other workers who work at A1Snehanjali and tracking the activities of the residents ― whether they’ve taken their medicines and meals, and if not, why, what’s their mood for the day, how they are engaging in different activities. She also arranges for doctors, physiotherapists, entertainment programmes and creative activities, helps her staff in grooming and feeding the residents, and always motivates and encourages the residents as well as her staff.

Dementia Friend

She started working as ‘Center Manager’ at A1Snehanjali one of its kind Dementia home in India and her passion, dedication and curiosity to learn was not only noticed but also appreciated by Management and she been promoted as ‘Senior Center Manager’.  Her work not only includes managing A1Snehanjali, but also to work and coordinate with local community and make meaningful impact for development of community including Zilla Parishad Primary Schools, Faith base organization, Municipal Corporation and  Environment. Her work and and human management during 2020 and 2021 Covid Pandemic is her biggest achievement and moment of honour for her organization Silver Innings.

Unsung Corona Warrior

She often came across situations where the family of the resident thought that the memory loss was just an act to gain attention and not a real symptom of something as severe as Alzheimer’s. That is why she believes that there should be more awareness as well as acceptance of the disease. People should know what Alzheimer’s is and if they suspect anyone is showing the symptoms, they should take it seriously and consult a neurologist or psychiatrist. There were also times when her own mood (or the staff mood) seemed like a challenge or hindered the caregiving work. In situations like these, Jenet conducts creative activities like painting and crafting, or different entertainment programmes like movies, listening to songs, dancing and playing games as a means to relieve the stress of her team and also refresh the residents mood.

Multi Role Dementia Warrior

The person suffering from Alzheimer’s are dependent on others; they need love, care, support and attention. Even though there is some stress, the emotional attachment with the residents and their love makes up for all of it. She says that although the residents might not remember her name, they search for her when she is not around, and this, alone, is enough for her to keep working for them.

The day she had taken up this job, her family had been bewildered, “Udhar jaake kya kaam karegi?” (What work will you do there?) However, now, after Jenet has made a lot of people aware about Alzheimer’s and how they need to be taken care of, people are proud of the work she is doing.

Jenet has learn from a wonderful quote from Leo Buscaglia that “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

 

-Vansh Tibrewal

 

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'Warrior of Change' Award for Silver Innings by Governor of Maharashtra

Honorable Governor of Maharashtra presented 'Warrior of Change' Award at the Annual Impact Creator Awards 2021 to 35 Inspiring Innovators and Entrepreneurs for their outstanding contributions during COVID-19 pandemic. 

Sailesh Mishra, Founder President of Silver Innings group was given prestigious 'Warrior of Change' Award for their 'TEAM Silver Innings' excellent selfless work during Covid Pandemic 2021 and 2022, at the Annual Impact Creator Awards 2021 by Governor of Maharashtra on 18th Dec 2021 at Rajbhavan, Mumbai. 

Sailesh Mishra of Silver Innings receiving award

The Annual Impact Creator Awards 2021 organized by ‘Billennium Divas’ were presented to 35 innovators and impact creators in various areas during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The pandemic has tested the grit of humanity time and again. Despite the stature and strata, countless Samaritans have gone above and beyond their line of duty to help their peers. Where the front-line workers such as Doctors and Police have shown impeccable courage discharging their duties, start-ups, corporates and individuals have brought in innovation and impact. These real heroes have shone through their impeccable work. Chief Evangelist of Billennium Divas Ms. Shweta Shalini, Chief Innovation Officer, Government of India, Dr. Abhay Jere graced the occasion as Guests of Honour, along with Smt. Minal Kothari, Director and Shri. Bhavesh Kothari, Director – Billennium Divas Pvt. Ltd with the help of Ms. Deepika Singh, Ex-Chief Minister’s Fellow.

Group photo 

The list of Awardees included notable names and stalwarts from industry such as: 

1. BSE Ltd. - Shri. Ashishkumar Chauhan

2. MPower Foundation - Smt. Neerja Birla

3. Nykaa - Smt. Falguni Nayar

4. Smt. Radhika Gupta of Edelweiss Mutual Fund

5. LXME represented by Smt. Priti Rathi Gupta

6. Capt. Raghu Raman of Remani Consultancy

7. Smt. Amisha Vora of Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd.

8. Shri. Anas Rahman Junaid of Hurun India

9. Dr. Akshay Batra of Dr. Batras

10. Dr. Radhakrishnan Pillai of Chanakya International Institute of Leadership Studies.

11. Kaya Clinic represented by Shri. Rajiv Nair

12. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) represented by Mr. Sudhir Mutalik

13. Enrich Salon represented by Ms. Binoli Patel

 

Book Launch

The presence of the aforementioned mavericks was complemented by outstanding start-ups and entrepreneurs for their innovative solutions that have impacted millions during the pandemic encompassing areas such as Healthtech, Fintech, Agritech, Social impact, foodtech and logistics, corporate governance and evangelists that have helped the state through technological interventions.

These include eminent names such as

1. Flipspaces - Shri. Kunal Sharma

2. Fasal - Shri. Shailendra Tiwari

3. Shri. Ranveer Allahbadia - The RanveerShow,

4. MahaKavach - Shri. Amit Kothawade and team

5. BMC COVID 19 War Room - Shri. Shubham Pareek and Shri. Janak Shah

6. United Way India - Smt. Jayanti Shukla.

7. Portea – Smt. Meena Ganesh

8. QR 678 - Dr. Debraj Shome and Dr. Rinky Kapoor

9. FIGGITAL.COM - Shri. Kamaljeet Singh Bhatia

10. Superpro AI - Shri. Gaurav Tripathi

11. Exampil - Shri. Dharmesh Ruparel

12. Shri. Sailesh Mishra - Silver Innings Group

13. CreditAI - Shri. Sangram Nayaka

14. Lean Meal Co - Smt. Mohak Bhingarkar and Shri. Jay Krishnanunny

15. Cloudphysician - Shri. Dhruv Joshi

16. Swasth Alliance- Shri. Ajay Nair

17. BodyCafé - Smt. Tanushree Ishani and Smt. Pooja Karegoudar

18. ASIMOV Robotics – Shri. Jayakrishnan T

19. Autovoltz Robotics – Shri. Yash Deshmukh

20. Kavitul Technologies - Shri. Yogesh Patel

21. Dr. Balsing Rajput

22. Flextool Equipments – Shri. Purvang Shah were among those felicitated on this occasion.

The event was ably supported by partners such as QR678, FLIPSPACES, Good Earth Engineering Industries, Figgital.com, SOS Nitelife, Lean Meal Co, Hunk Golden and BodyCafe. Our Special Thanks and Gratitude to the entire staff at Raj Bhavan for their hospitality and their whole hearted support in making this event a memorable one.

Link to the scintillating moments of the “Annual Impact Creator Awards 2021” (#ICA2021) - https://youtu.be/jytwBkC7wPA

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Humans of Dementia - Raynah Remedios

 Making her father happier in his sunset years

Dementia and Alzheimer's were words Raynah had heard of, but could never truly comprehend. All she thought was that it perhaps had something to do with old age. She never realised the seriousness of the condition until it hit home and affected their lives as a family. Raynah lived in another city so her parents would visit her for about a month every year and she would visit them from time to time. 

There would be tell-tale signs in her father’s behaviour but as all do, would pass it off as absent mindedness or forgetfulness that was part of the ageing. There was this one time, when she saw him walking about with his dark glasses on. At first she ignored it but when she saw him reading the newspaper with his dark glasses on, she asked why? When he replied, “No wonder it is so dark! I was wondering why there is no light in your house." it made her wonder but not enough to be worried.

There were other such instances, which she dismissed off, like he would misplace things regularly, repeat the same stories or ask the same questions over and over again. She recalls that her mother was upset because he hadn’t wished her and thought that he was just being mean but he actually did not remember what day it was.  From not remembering names, not remembering days, years, birthdays to being unable to keep accounts, misplacing money, forgetting ATM pins, her father soon lost interest in doing the things he loved, like watching sports, movies and the news on TV. What worried Raynah more was that he stopped reading the newspaper, a ritual he had practiced religiously all his life.  

The family had till then still not realised that dementia had set in a while ago and was now progressing at an alarming rate.  When they finally took him to get some tests done, the doctor said that he should have been brought in five years ago. Everything quickly began to fall apart a few months after his diagnosis, as her father started to lose control over his bodily functions and would hide his soiled clothes in embarrassment. He used to love to eat and never wasted food but now he was now pushing his plate aside, barely eating a few morsels. His appetite diminished and slowly his personality started to change as well and would not talk much to anyone. He was angry a lot more and got aggressive when he would not be allowed to go out on his own. Her father walked out of the house often, would wander on the streets, get on to trains and buses and they would be forced to follow him, so he did not get lost. Raynah and her mother soon realised that there would be no permanent solution for this situation. 

On their next visit to the doctor, the family was told that the medication was not helping and the only option was to sedate him. The continuous sleeping most of the day left him disoriented and disheartened by the side effects, so the family decided not to continue to sedate him. When Raynah realised that her mother, who was his sole care giver, could not manage the pressures of looking after him all day any more, they began to reach out to people in the hope to find support and care. Of the options available, Raynah came to the conclusion that ‘A1Snehanjali’, dementia care facility of Silver Innings was the best place to give him the 24 hour attention, assistance and after  visit to the facility, they felt confident that he would be well looked after there. 

 

The choice to put their father in ‘A1Snehanjali’ wasn’t an easy one. It came with a guilt and disappointment of not being able to provide the comfort he needed and having to reach out to someone better equipped to help their father live out the remainder of his life, away from all his loved ones. ‘A1Snehanjali’ and their team proved to be the right choice and have not only been keeping him engaged but they have helped him retain some of his cognitive ability too. While his memory and cognitive and physical capabilities continue to deteriorate as the disease progresses, the family's only solace is that he is being taken good care of and doesn’t know what is happening. That he is happy and at peace in his own world, is now enough for the family.

Shared by Raynah Remedios, Daughter

Edited and Complied by Hira Mehta

Courtesy: 'Remember ME - You Me and Dementia' Book https://www.amazon.in/dp/9385221051 

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Humans of Dementia - Asha

 A1Snehanjali assisted living elder care home, project of Silver Innings employs several people, both men and women, as full-time caretakers for Persons with Alzheimer’s. Many of those employees work a morning to evening shift and return home, which is possible since they are local residents who have access to intra-city travel. However, many other employees come to work at the A1Snehanjali centre from nearby or far-off villages, which makes it difficult for them to travel to and fro their village every day. Thus, the organisation arranges for these employees to stay at the A1Snehanjali centre itself. While most of these employees tend to be male, there are also some female employees who stay at the centre. One such employee is Asha, a 30-year-old woman who came to work at the A1Snehanjali centre from a nearby Tribal village called Vikramgarh, District Palghar. 

Vikramgarh is a remote area where the job opportunities are at a bare minimum. The major work that the community of that village performs is that of farming and other agricultural jobs. However, those jobs are seasonal and heavily dependent on the climate, which means that if it doesn’t rain enough one year, the families in the village don’t earn enough to survive. Therefore, Asha decided to venture out of the village to explore stable job opportunities in the city. This is when she came across A1Snehanjali and began working for them as a resident employee.

Before she came to A1Snehanjali, she didn’t know what Alzheimer’s disease was. Once Asha came to the centre, she learnt about the disease and what is required from her as a caretaker person with Alzheimer’s. Coming from a community that lives in a remote area, the awareness about such diseases was, and still is, extremely minimal. Even as she works here, her family and friends back home aren’t fully aware about the disease. Nonetheless, they know that Asha’s work comprises of taking care of elder people, and so they continue to give Asha their blessings for doing this good work. Along with her relatives, Asha also feels happy in the work she does and finds it worthwhile to take care of the elders with dementia. 

Asha lost her husband few years ago and has 6 years old girl child, she worries about her child future and needs to work. Asha being mother and being compassionate towards her parents, helps her to care for Elders. She is Team member and works with her colleagues to make the center a better home stay for person with dementia. Her creativity with Rangoli and smile brings joy for all.   

At the A1Snehanjali centre, Asha’s duties include changing the diapers of the patients, sometime making them food and feeding them, giving the resident their medicines at the respective times as well as cleaning and grooming them on a daily basis. As a caretaker, she is essentially responsible for the day-to-day activity living of the residents since she assists them in almost every task they do every single day. However, she doesn’t mind the work since there aren’t any major problems or challenges she faces. Instead, Asha finds that everything runs quite smoothly every day at the A1Snehanjali centre with support from management, making it easier and happier for both the patients and the caretakers.

By Vansh Tibrewal

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Humans of Dementia - Yogesh

 Many people around the world leave their villages and hometowns to move to another city, state or sometimes even country, for the purpose of work. Some migrate with their entire families; however, some take the journey alone. Yogesh, a 33-year-old caregiver of person with Alzheimer’s at A1Snehanjali, is one such person who left his village to work full- time for the organization in Mumbai. Other employees like him, mostly men, have also moved to Mumbai from their respective villages for the work opportunity at A1Snehanjali. As a result, while the local employees mostly work in 12 hour shifts, employees like Yogesh stay at the centre 24/7, and work in shifts to care for the person with dementia at the time when other employees aren’t there. Living and working in the same place, A1Snehanjali is like Yogesh’s home and work-space at the same time, blurring the lines between the two. 

While Yogesh is a full-time employee at A1Snehanjali, his work does not really feel like a ‘job’ to him. Rather, he feels as if he is just at home taking care of his own family members. Not only does he regard his person with dementia, the Residents, as his family, but he also finds such proximity with other staff members, who he considers to be his really good friends. Sharing such a bond with his fellow colleagues and residents is one of the reasons that Yogesh has continued to work at A1Snehanjali for almost 8 years now. His own family back in the village also support him in his job as they believe it to be ‘punya ka kaam’ or virtuous work. They are very proud of him. Thus, Yogesh continues to be invested in providing support to the person with dementia and realizes it to be a fulfilling duty. 

Yogesh’s journey at A1Snehanjali began unexpectedly. He hadn’t thought of working here at all until his friend directed him to the Silver Innings organization. Yogesh was in search for work so he was asking around and looking for job openings. This is when one of his friends told him that there was an opening at Silver Innings, new assisted living elder care home ‘A1Snehanjali’. Yogesh came to the centre and has been working here ever since. Before coming to the centre, Yogesh didn’t know anything about Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia, Elder care or caregiving work, but since he learned about it and got onto the job, he hasn’t looked back.

Over the years, one of the challenges Yogesh has faced is when a new resident arrives for the first time in the centre. They often take a lot of time to adjust to the new environment and it can be difficult for them to settle. However, the caregivers make the new resident feel safe and comforted, and so over time, the residents become accustomed to the environment. He and others at A1Snehanjali have learnt how touch, smile and love make all feel homely. 

While caregiving work has a lot of ‘giving’ in the help that is provided by the caretakers to the person with dementia, Yogesh feels that it is also one of the few jobs that gives back to the caretaker. Everyday he learns something new, which keeps the experiences fresh and different everyday. This makes his job dynamic rather than monotonous, even after 8 years of working in the same place.

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." - Leo Buscaglia.  

By Vansh Tibrewal

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