During one of her visits to a low-income old-age home, Jot Prakash Kaur realised that the biggest challenge for the residents there was loneliness. There were hardly any visitors.
The residents keep waiting for their last breath. Some slowly slip into depression and start having thoughts of suicide. But Jot also realised that most of them had little, unfulfilled desires, and she was told that if these wishes were fulfilled, it could have a huge impact on their emotional and mental health. With this idea in mind, Jot established her organisation Baithak, basically to help people in old-age homes live a happy, productive life and also give youngsters the opportunity to connect with and spend time with them.
Emotional wellness is something that is not thought about often and Jot chose the name Baithak because it means conversation — just meeting elderly people, sitting down and having a heart-to-heart talk with them. She says, "There are higher-income homes where people are there because their kids are in another country. They are looked after well. But people in these low-income homes don't really have a reason to be there. There are mostly abandoned or don't have enough to support themselves." She adds, “There are very small desires they have like having a plant beside them that they can water every day or the chance to visit the temple every week. There was one lady who wanted to act in a play. So I’ve been in touch with the National School of Drama to see if that can be worked out.”
With the help of PwC India Foundation and School of Social Entrepreneurs, Jot has been able to provide a structure to the whole organisation, decide what business model to follow and is currently in the process of registration.
Baithak’s focus is on introducing recurring engagement activities, like poetry sessions, thereby giving the residents something to look forward to, rather than just waiting to die.
