ANBAGAM – Home of Love
A unit of Manonmani Trust
INCLUSIVE, INTEGRATED, INSPIRING
Anbagam is the flagship project of Manonmani Trust - a home for needy, senior citizens, victims of domestic violence and other vulnerable persons in Thirukandalam village at Tiruvallur district, around 35 kilometres from Chennai.
Anbagam is run with a view towards making elders self-sufficient and cognizant of their self-worth. It houses 25 - 30 women and men on average, and also extends admission on a short-term basis to women and children who are victims of domestic violence.
We initially faced difficulties with finding premises to house an old-age home. We struggled to get premises on rent since property owners were prejudiced against shelter homes and were fearful that the market value of their property would depreciate if an older person died on their property. We finally managed to set up Anbagam in a rental premise at Perungulathur and were overwhelmed by the support of our neighbours.
The neighbours embraced residents of Anbagam as their own kith and kin and helped create a community. To reciprocate the affection and support received, Manonmani Trust resolved that in addition to helping its residents, Anbagam will also give back to the neighbourhood and be an important resource to the community. We conducted free summer camps and tuition centre for underprivileged students of the community in Perungulathur.
In 2016, Manonmani Trust oversaw the construction of a new building, which saw Anbagam shift base from Perungulathur to Thirukandalam. Thirukandalam is a lush, green village only an hour’s drive from Chennai city. The building was made possible due to the generous contribution of individual and corporate sponsors and friends of Manonmani Trust.
Our Philosophy
An integral part of the Anbagam experiment lies in encouraging interaction and engagement between elders and the youth, to revive traditions, culture and values between the two demographics. When aged persons are constrained to move out of their families and enter an institution or old-age home, they suffer severe mental and emotional distress and trauma. They feel stripped of their self-worth and dignity. Manonmani Trust’s experimental model has volunteers interacting with aged inmates, thereby helping their lives get a tad better while benefiting from the wisdom of the aged. Through sustained interactions with the youth, and engaging in socially productive activities, the aged residents gain self-confidence and regain self-esteem. Through family counselling, Manonmani Trust has also been able to help reconcile elderly persons with their families. Our focus is not to institutionalise the vulnerable and needy, but support them and integrate them through counselling.
Manonmani Trust is mindful that often, social organizations forget their responsibilities towards their neighbours and are unable to integrate themselves into the community. We are cognizant of our footprint in the neighbourhood and have been devoting our time and energy to integrated community development. We have conducted a demographic survey, with the assistance of trained social workers, to understand in a bottom-up manner, the needs of the village. Preliminary results showed that a significant number of middle-school and high-school students of the village drop out of school. To encourage such students to continue in school and inspire them, the Trust has been running a tuition centre. We also invite college students and young professionals to the village to conduct talks and interactions with the youth.