Jaspar Centre – A haven for our ageing population

Lord Dolar Popat Tuesday 24th October 2017 07:13 EDT
 

Last week I had the great honour of opening the new Jaspar Centre Hall in Harrow with a number of esteemed guests. It was no ordinary hall opening – it represented much, much more. The opening signified a new era of British born Indians taking active steps to empower and care for our growing elderly population.

People in the UK – including within the British Indian community are living longer than ever before. This is a major achievement of modern science and healthcare. But whilst an ageing population provides tremendous opportunities for our community, it also presents many challenges which we are inadequately prepared for.

For the last 50 years our community has been engrossed with trying to better ourselves. With many of our community members coming from India and East Africa from humble backgrounds, our prime focus was to attain a good job, buy a house and secure a better future for our family and get the best possible education for our children.

As a community we have done exceptionally well in this country. British Indians today are one of the most successful communities in Britain. However, amongst our determination to succeed and having secured the best possible future for the new generation, we have miscalculated the importance of preparing for the future for our elderly population.

We are effectively sitting on a time bomb, with inadequate provisions for how we intend to care for our elderly members. This is not in reference to respite care – but long term care, such as tackling loneliness, depression and dementia which dominant our elderly members. Loneliness is a particular problem in our community, with the University of California finding that “feeling lonely” almost doubled the risk of an elderly person dying.

Thirty years ago many members from the British Indian community would start winding down at the age of 50. Today, 60 is the new 40, with people working well into their 70s. This is a great achievement and presents us with an opportunity for us to harness the skills of this experienced population.

As a community, we need to look positively at the ageing of the population; productive ageing. This does not mean that everybody has to be in the workplace, but it means looking at what older people bring to society.

Many people now enjoy fuller retirements than ever before, or continue to work well into their later life. Older people make a considerable contribution to society, bringing maturity and varied life experiences to bear.

People’s definitions of what it means to be ‘old’ have changed, along with ideas about how dependent older people are. For a lot of people, being ‘old’ is a state of mind related to health and the ability to remain independent.

This is where centres like the Jaspar Centre come in and play a crucial role in empowering our elderly population through the activities they provide. Charities like Jaspar, are the eyes, ears and conscience of our community. They mobilise, they provide, they inspire, they advocate and they unite.

We are not necessarily heading towards a disaster; the contribution to our society made by older people, which is already impressive will be greater as a result. Already 30% of people aged over 60 volunteer regularly through formal organisations.

I am pleased that people like Raj Pankhania and Subhash Thakrar have recognised the need to empower our elderly population. Raj, a very successful businessman is an example to us all in setting aside funds from his business for the community at large. I am sure his late parents would be very proud, particularly of their grandchildren, Anup and Riddhi Pankhania for their efforts in building this centre. But one centre is not enough. The British Indian population is growing older fast and we need more centres and activities.

This is why I have always advocated the need for such community centres. We must change our giving habits, moving from donations to temples using their newly acquired wealth to shape the British Indian community in the UK.

Other communities, such as the Jewish community are way ahead. They also have an elderly population and have up to 12 specially designated community centres across the country for their elderly members. The Ismaili community also has a series of programmes to empower the elderly.

As a community we are at the crossroads. We have a moral duty to provide for the elderly members of our community who got us here. I am pleased with the start that Riddhi and Anup have made and I am sure they have inspired many more to follow suit. I have no doubt that in 20 years’ time we will be thankfull for the role charities like Jaspar have played in providing for our growing elderly population. 


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