Grandparents’ Day at Mahila Mandiram

Thiruvananthapuram: There were warm smiles on the faces of most of the senior citizens residing at Government Mahila Mandiram, Poojappura who celebrated Grandparents’ Day on Sunday. For the 35 women of the care home and 10 children from Sree Chithra Home, the event was an opportunity to share the care and affection between a grandmother and a grandchild.
Some of the residents had sent letters requesting their grandchildren to attend the event on Sunday but most of them were disappointed as the majority of the grandchildren failed to turn out.
The event organised by District Legal Services Authority (DSLA) in association with government old age homes located at Poojappura was inaugurated by the additional district judge and former DSLA Thiruvananthapuram secretary Siju Sheik.
According to Siju Sheik, the old age homes had become a necessity since the practice of abandoning the elders were becoming rampant. “When I first joined DLSA, I was of the opinion that care homes were not something that should be encouraged but I soon found that it was a necessity. But here we have made it clear that those who leave their mothers here should visit them. They should also take their mothers for vacations and if it is not possible then they should at least visit them whenever possible,” he said.
A special grandparent’s day cake was cut by district judge Siju Sheikh along with two mothers from here and children from Sree Chithra Home. There were cultural programmes and an onasadya as part of the event.
Ward councillor B Vijayalekshmi presided over the ceremony which was also attended by Poojappura Mahila Mandiram superintendent Sajitha S.