Association of Medical Doctors of ASIA, founded in 1984, Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC since 1995

Activities

Elderly care home in Bodhgaya, India (August –December 2023)

Publication date:2024-05-23

Dr. Archana Shrestha Joshi (AMDA Headquarters)

Until December 2023, AMDA was providing financial assistance to an elderly care home in Bodhgaya, India, a facility run by a former staff member of AMDA Peace Clinic. The nursing home accommodates 22 elderly people who had no one to tend to.

Securing financial resources had always been a major problem for the nursing home. In fact, it mostly relied on donations from third parties to pay staff salaries and purchase daily necessities. The financing became much more strained after the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Because the number of donors (including tourists) rapidly decreased, it became extremely challenging for the home to procure medicine and food supplies for its residents.

All of these stories came to light when Dr. Shigeru Suganami, President of AMDA International, visited the nursing home in November 2022. In order to let it become financially independent, AMDA provided cattle to give it a chance to run a small dairy farm.

One cow and two calves were donated respectively in November 2022 and February 2023, and a barn was built on the home’s property. The nursing home now has 11 cattle in total, which is enough to run a micro dairy business.

During our visit to the care home, the residents appeared to be joyfully taking care of the animals.

“Now that we can sell our dairy products such as milk, we no longer have to rely on donations from AMDA and other local donors to make ends meet,” says Ms. Veda, who founded the nursing home. “Having a secure source of income made us feel a lot more at ease in looking after our tenants.”

Although the financial assistance has ended, AMDA hopes to continue supporting the nursing home by providing free meals every week and assisting Ms. Veda in her venture. She is a truly compassionate individual who does not mind providing ingredients for kheer out of her pocket.