District 322H’s initiative restores dignity through care and connection
A haircut. Fresh clothes. A familiar face stopping by regularly. For most people, these are ordinary parts of life. For ten elderly residents living in the psychiatric ward of Malda Medical College — eight women and two men abandoned by their families — they had become luxuries.
The idea for SWAABHIMAN: Ek Sparsh, Ek Samman began during Mental Health Service Week, when a clinical psychologist from the Department of Psychiatry at Malda Medical College approached District Governor Arun Maheswari (District 322H) with a request. The patients had shelter and medical care, but many lacked the simple, everyday support that gives people a sense of dignity — assistance with grooming, hygiene, and personal care.
Deeply moved by their circumstances, the Lions Clubs of Malda New Century, Malda Jagriti, and Malda Nightingales joined hands with the Psychiatry Department of Malda Medical College to create SWAABHIMAN – Ek Sparsh, Ek Samman, conceived not as a one-time intervention, but as an ongoing initiative.
Regular arrangements have now been made for a washerman and barber to care for the residents, alongside support for essential daily needs. The initiative addresses practical necessities, but its purpose reaches further — ensuring that care does not stop at treatment alone.
The acts themselves were simple — grooming, conversation, companionship. But sometimes care is measured not by scale, but by consistency.
True to its name, SWAABHIMAN goes beyond routine care. Through consistent acts of support and companionship, it seeks to restore something equally important — a sense of self-worth and dignity that abandonment often takes away.
* Faces have been blurred to protect the privacy and dignity of the residents.