When Hope Returns, Selvam’s Story
Selvam is from Tamil Nadu, India. He cares for his father Loganathan.
Our local charity partner Vasantham Federation met Selvam four years after his father’s accident. Selvam has a wife and two children and they were struggling financially, having spent so much on his father’s treatment, which wasn’t working.
Vasantham Federation arranged for Selvam to take his father for assessment by the district psychiatrist, who diagnosed him with PTSD from the accident and prescribed medication. Within six months Selvam started to notice changes in his father.
Selvam also joined his local Carers Group. He was a very active member and was soon voted leader of the group. He was also elected by his peers to be the President of the Block Level Carers Federation. Selvam said of his Carers Group,
“My Carers Group is my family - It makes me feel respected, acknowledged, included and supported”
“Our Carers Group is a place where we can talk and pour out our problems, issues and needs. Just talking starts to reduce the weight we carry. We also care, help and support each other because we realise that we share the same experiences and are of one family in spirit.”
The members of the Carers Group each contributed regularly to a group savings pot and when it came time to distribute the funds, Selvan was selected to receive a loan to help him with his small business.
“Our Carers Group savings fund means we can contribute financially to our families, to the society and now everyone in our families and our community respects, acknowledges and appreciates our caring roles”
As well as being part of a Carers Group, Selvam benefited from visits from local counsellors who were trained through our project and supported Selvam in his journey of caring for his father.
Vasantham Federation also helped Selvam get a Disability ID card for his father, meaning he could receive the monthly disability pension, which was a great help to the family, as his father had lost his income after the accident.
They helped enrol his father in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), an Indian social security scheme that provides a guarantee of at least 100 days of paid employment in a financial year to adults who volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
This meant that as Selvam’s father gained back his strength and mobility he could start earning again, giving him back his dignity and allowing him to contribute to the family.
“I am thankful that my father is stabilised now. Everyone in my community is acknowledging that my caring role, regular medication and family support made this huge change in him possible. This is a blessing which has come from the pain.
I want other people caring for their loved ones, to know that there is hope with the right treatment. Don’t give up on them. Vasantham Federation’s Carers Project with Carers Worldwide has helped me understand more about how to help my father and see that there is a way forward.”
If you would like to help us continue our work supporting unpaid carers like Selvam, then please do consider giving a gift. Every contribution, no matter the size, truly makes a difference.
