The International Women's Day was celebrated at the House of Commonson 6th March, at an event hosted by Bob Blackman MP, in presence of a number of influential and inspirational speakers from Parliament like Lord Navnit Dholakia, Baroness Sandip Verma, Lord Dolar Popat and the community, who came together to share their view point.
The evening also marked the launch of The Great British Chai Party, an exciting initiative focusing on the elderly and supporting government initiatives for a better quality of life in this age group. By 2020, Britain will have more than one million over 70 year olds. Although good work is being done through Age UK and other similar organisations for the elderly, there is a lot more can still be done. The party is co-founded by Kiran Bhanaut and Sushma Bhanot.
The key objectives of this party are: To tackle loneliness and social isolation of elderlies by hosting periodical tea parties for them, use these parties to enhance social cohesion, facilitate friendships among elderlies and ensure they can attend these parties by arranging transports for them.
Statistics show, in the UK there are approximately 3000 lonely funerals per year, funded by Councils. There are 1 million elderly people who do not see anyone for 1 month and 4 million elderly people say TV is their only source of communication and companionship.
Sushma Bhanot, Director of Coolherbals and Co- Chair of International Womens Day said, “International Women’s Day is a day of celebration as well as reflection and planning for the future. One of this year’s projects is the launch of the Great British Chai Party.
Kiran Bhanaut, Senior Health & Safety and IT Services Project Management Consultant, Co-Chair of International Women’s Day said, ‘This initiative is to get elderly people coming out of their homes and meeting other like-minded people. Some Asian women particularly feel isolated and this can lead to depression. Through chai or tea parties we are hoping to empower older people to lead full and happy lives.”
Photo courtesy: Raj D Bakrania, PrMediapix
