£20m lottery fund to tackle 'lonely' elderly in Wales

Actress Margaret John said she is busier than ever at 83.

A £20m lottery package to reduce social isolation and loneliness of elderly people in Wales is being unveiled later.

Ruth Marks, older people’s commissioner for Wales, said AdvantAGE was a “step forward” in improving quality of life.

The Big Lottery Fund is looking for voluntary projects, which aim to run between three and five years.

Gavin and Stacey actress Margaret John, 83, will launch the scheme in Port Talbot.

Ms John, who also stars in the BBC Wales comedy High Hopes, said: “I’m probably busier now than I’ve ever been in my career and it’s been extraordinary these last few years.

“I’ve been lucky that my occupation has kept me busy and kept me going.

“Keeping busy is the only way to keep your brain going”

Margaret John Actress

“Retirement certainly isn’t a word that’s in my dictionary and I’d be bored to death if I didn’t have my work.”

The actress starred as colourful neighbour Doris in the Barry-based hit comedy Gavin and Stacey.

She will join a group of older people in Aberavon, who attend a regular lunch club organised by Age Concern Neath Port Talbot.

Ms John, due to appear on stage in Calendar Girls in Cardiff in July, will also see the work of the lottery-funded Promoting Independence Through Neighbourliness project.

“I meet new people and work on new projects all the time,” said Ms John.

“Keeping busy is the only way to keep your brain going and I’m a strong believer that a healthy mind makes a healthy body.”

Chair of the AdvantAGE programme committee Fran Targett, said isolation can result from life changing experiences, such as retirement, bereavement and long-term illness.

“Wales has a higher proportion of older people over 50 than any other country in the UK.

‘Fit for purpose’

“As we see in Margaret John, many older people view ageing as an opportunity and an exciting new life chapter.

“For others, however, older age brings challenges which, without support, can be daunting and lead to social isolation and loneliness.”

Meanwhile, Ruth Marks said she believed the programme could contribute to overcoming isolation.

“We have an ageing population, and it is vital that services are fit for purpose,” she said

Grants of between £200,000 and £1m will be available for projects, which either encourage befriending or social interaction, or represent the elderly and develop support services.

The closing date for applications is 29 October 2010.

Reference Link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/wales/south_west_wales/10190551.stm

Courtesy
BBC News

Welfare scheme for migrant workers

Security net: Labour Minister P.K. Gurudasan with migrant workers before the State-level inauguration of a scheme for their welfare in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan on Friday launched a welfare programme offering a measure of social security for the migrant people working in various sectors in the State.

This is the first such initiative in the country, Mr. Achuthanandan said while launching the programme at a function here. “Tens of thousands of people from States such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and West Bengal are working in Kerala in areas demanding heavy manual effort. They contribute in a big way to the development of the State and Kerala owes this gesture towards them,” he said.

Labour Minister P.K. Gurudasan, who presided, said several large companies involved in road and other construction works in Kerala were engaging workers from other States in large numbers. These workers received none of the social protection measures available for the workers hailing from within Kerala.

The programme, titled Kerala Migrant Workers’ Welfare Programme, is being implemented through the Kerala Building and other Construction Workers’ Welfare Fund Board. Migrant workers have to register their names under this scheme at the offices of the board paying a contribution of Rs.30 a year. Twice that amount will be remitted to each member’s account by the board and the government will contribute the remaining sum to carry out a host of welfare measures for the members.

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/05/01/stories/2010050161680400.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu

Welfare assistance given to folk artistes

SALEM, India: Secretary, Department of Tourism and Culture, V Iraianbu, disbursed welfare assistance to 429 folk artistes from the districts of Salem, Namakkal, Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, Erode, Krishnagiri and Tirupur to the tune of Rs 4.65 lakh here on Monday. Collector J Chandrakumar presided. Mr. Iraianbu said that Tamil Nadu Government had formed a welfare board for the folk artistes and 2000 had been registered as its members. Through the board various welfare schemes were executed for the artistes. Assistant Director, P Hemanathan and Music School Principal S sankararaman were also present.

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/09/stories/2010030952640300.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu

Major project to benefit landless dalits

Fallow lands to be developed into cultivable area under the programme

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District Collector launches ‘Kshetra Darshini’

The project to be completed by August

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TAKING THE LEAD: District Collector B. Ramanjaneyulu rides a tractor at Madipadu village where the project Kshetra Darshini being implemented.

GUNTUR, India: Fallow lands in Guntur district are being turned into cultivable areas and the landless dalits empowered under ‘Kshetra Darshini’ project of the State government.

A joint effort of various government departments like Horticulture, Agriculture, Social Forestry and District Rural Development Agency, it is promising to usher in a small green revolution in the parched lands of naxal-infested Palnadu.

The project is a component of Comprehensive Land Development Project, under the aegis of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).

“About 3,000 landless dalits are being given title deeds in 6,935 acres of fallow assigned lands. This is the biggest project to develop fallow lands benefiting SC/STs in the history of the district,” District Collector B. Ramajaneyulu told The Hindu on Wednesday.

Administrative nod

The Collector, who has taken a keen interest in the project, gave the administrative sanction on February 23 at a public meeting held at Madipadu, where 149 beneficiaries were given away ownership deeds of land measuring 324.35 acres.

The meeting, held under tight security , was attended by a large number of villagers.

The district administration has also released a schedule to complete the project by the third week of August. Following the administrative sanction, activities like forest clearance, removal of boulders, earthen bunding, ploughing and digging of farm ponds would be taken up till the end of March.

Simultaneously, digging of borewells and electrification would be completed by the end of April.

Personnel from the departments of Horticulture and Agriculture would train the people in sowing and cultivation and the plantation would be taken up in July. The cultivation would be done with the help of water conservation methods, like drip irrigation.

Nodal agency

The District Water Management Agency (DWAMA), which was the nodal agency for implementing the project, had selected the most backward mandals in the district — Atchampet, Vinukonda, Durgi and Bollapalli.

“This is a once-in-a-life time opportunity for the landless dalits to prosper.

The government would bear the entire cost of the project from clearing the land until the beneficiary gets the first produce,” the District Collector said.

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/04/stories/2010030450900500.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu