The old man on Chennai station, near Madras, South India was obviously in trouble. Abandoned at the railway station by his family, he was alone, very ill and suffering from a high fever.
Mr. P. Rajkumar was asked if he could help. Ascertaining the old man’s dreadful condition, he called a doctor. But the old man died within the hour. This was the first conscious contact the young elder from Kilpauk Baptist Church had experienced of elderly abandoned people.
In 2001 there were some 77 million people in India aged over 60. By 2013 that figure is expected to have increased to 100 million. 90% of older persons have no social security at age 60. 30% of the elderly live below the poverty line and a further 33% live just above it. 55% of women over 60 are widows, many of them with no support whatsoever.
