Library For Senior Citizen
N. Vanitha, Chairperson of Sharanalayam, receiving a book from K. Arumugam, Vice-Chairman, Kumaraguru College of Technology, who donated a library to Preetham, a senior citizen’s retirement community centre near Pollachi. Preetham, a senior citizen’s home set up by Sharanalayam (a rehabilitation centre for homeless children), recently added a library to its facilities. Donated by K. Arumugam, Vice-Chairman of Kumaraguru College of Technology, the library will cater to the reading interests of the senior citizens at Preetham, says N. Vanitha, Chairperson of Sharanalayam.
The library has about 1,500 books covering a wide range of topics including spirituality, philosophy and fiction in various languages. It is open every day - one hour in the morning and in the evening. The elders can either borrow the books just like the way it is done in a public library or read them at the library itself. The book lovers among the residents of the retirement community centre have even formed a ‘book readers club’ that meets every Sunday evening and discusses the books they have read. “Aged people need to be engaged with some hobby or the other. If their minds are idle, they become lonely and tend to slip into depression. Reading is one of the best ways to help them utilise their unhurried lives,” she says.
The retirement community centre, which was inaugurated about two months ago, has 30 occupants. “It is aimed at retired people who wish to spend the rest of their lives on their own without being a burden to their children. At a retirement community centre, they can be free from responsibilities too. They need not manage the house, cook, clean and pay bills,” Ms. Vanitha says.
The enclave has 61 rooms and offers all the facilities retired elders require. Sharanalayam is planning to set up a school for its children and for those children from in and around Pollachi who cannot afford a decent education, Ms. Vanitha says. For more information on Preetham, contact 98422-54204.
