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Archiver > INDIA > 1999-09 > 0936497146


From: <>
Subject: FOSTER SENIORS
Date: Sat, 4 Sep 1999 22:05:46 EDT


Hello All,

Thanks for all the e-mail we received from all parts of the world through
on helping needy old Anglo-Indian people in the cities
of India (Calcutta, in particular). It was very enlightening to see what is
being done by various groups and organizations for the poor and needy. It
would be interesting to know what is being done in the other cities of India.
Are there pockets of very poor old people in Madras, Bangalore, Poona,
Bombay, Ajmer, Delhi, Agra, Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad or any other city?
Who is doing what in these areas?

I'm glad to see that Blair and Ellen Williams of New Jersey have stepped
out on faith and have raised funds for small pensions that support 25 seniors
a month. His fund is The Calcutta Tijallah Relief, Inc. Their mailing
address is: Calcutta Tijallah Relief, Inc. P.O. Box 614, Scotch Plains, NJ
07076, U.S.A. It is not for profit and is exempt from U.S.A. federal income
tax, which means donors may deduct contributions from their yearly income.

Just this week The New York Times Magazine of August 29, 1999, published
a major article: "FOSTER SENIORS: A New Jersey program allows families to
make extra cash by taking in the elderly and infirm." The plan is simple: a
family is asked to care for someone old who needs a family's love and care.
This often brings adults and children together where they can laugh--and even
bicker. New Jersey is helping 85 seniors. In Oregon State, however, where
they have a more mature program like this, they serve over 5,000 people.

A nonprofit group watches over the program. Caregivers go through a
15-day certification course and train at a nursing home. They also have
their backgrounds checked. The homes are visited to see that they are clean
and safe.

What do you think of the two programs (The Tijallah Relief Fund and
Foster Seniors)? Can we do more to make the old age of our needy people
comfortable and happy? What can we do to help support those individuals and
groups who work among the poor in India? Are there grants or gifts from
large charitable groups that you can contact to help do more? Are the
existing charities like the respected Friend in Need Society and the Calcutta
Anglo-Indian Social Services (which is watching over The Tiljallah Relief
fund) willing to implement the Foster Senior program, for instance? Would
the social programs of the Indian states help toward such expenses--through
matching funds, for instance?

Best wishes from green Maryland (we're getting monsoon-like rains now
thanks to Hurricane Dennis)!

Reg and Norma Shires
Beltsville, Maryland, U.S.A.
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