Ehsan Club (Centre for Elderly Empowerment & Care - Ehsan)

Ehsan Club (Centre for Elderly Empowerment & Care – Ehsan)

Status: Ongoing

Evaluated

Doha, Izghawa, Al Shamal - Qatar Qatar

Print this page City population: 1000Practice started in 2014

Summary

Older persons have rights in the community and from those around them such as to be treated with respect and dignity. Yet, sometimes family members find that the challenges of day to day life and preoccupation with work limit their ability to adequately care for their loved ones.

The need for adequate social care has been the catalyst for creating a suitable day care service from which older persons can enjoy high levels of social participation, actively take advantage of the available opportunities to live a productive life, learn new ways to invest in their lives, to enable them to enjoy a life full of knowledge, rich experiences and gain skills derived from the principles of active ageing.

Ehsan Club programs are 3 Day Care facilities operated by the Centre for Elderly Empowerment and Care (Ehsan) for free, for both male and female Qatari citizens and non-Qatari residents. Ehsan is a Qatari non-governmental organization under the umbrella of Qatar Foundation for Social Work.

Ehsan aims to work diligently to integrate older persons into the community, seeking to keep them in their natural family environment, working to reduce sheltering, and continuously increasing community awareness about fundamental older person’s rights and issues, while promoting a commitment towards stimulating inter-generational communication.

Website: http://www.ehsan.org.qa/Ar/Pages/default.aspx

Key facts

Main target group: Older people in general

Sector(s): Education, Health, Information and communication

Desired outcome for older people:
Build and maintain relationships

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:

Accessibility
Ageing in place
Dementia
Elder abuse
Healthy behaviours (e.g. physical activity)
Intergenerational activities
Inclusion
Participation
Technologies

Contact details

Name: Saleh, Khalid

Email address: international_relations@ehsan.org.qa

Preferred language(s): English and/or Arabic

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Civil Society Organisation

Others involved in the project:

Local authorities
Civil Society Organisation
Social or health care provider
Volunteers
Private sector

How collaboration worked: The Centre for Elderly Empowerment and Care (Ehsan) understands that collaboration with partners and stakeholders in Qatar is vital for the success of the program. Therefore, Ehsan collaborates with multiple partners, some through Memorandums of Understanding, some through invitations to collaborate, to assist in the process of program delivery, and in some cases, give them an opportunity to fulfill their corporate social responsibility initiatives . Below are some of the cooperating partners with Ehsan, and the modality of collaboration: 1. Ministry of Interior: Cooperating partner in delivering awareness seminars, workshops and lectures to club members. (Community Police, Traffic Police, Cyber-security). 2. Hamad Medical Corporation (Ministry of Health): Cooperating partner in delivering awareness lectures on health, hygiene and the importance of active ageing. 3. Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs: Cooperating partner in delivering religious lectures around the subject of ageing, awareness seminars about the religious perspective on ageing coping mechanisms. 4. Qatar Cancer Society: Cooperating partner in delivering a series of cancer awareness, prevention and nutrition lecturesand workshops for older persons. 5. Qatar Red Crescent Society: Cooperating partner in delivering First Aid workshops for older persons. 6. Al-Reyada Girls Center: Cooperating partner in delivering handcrafts workshops, leisure activities to enhance and promote intergenerational communication. 7. Mada – Qatar Assistive Technology Centre: Cooperating partner in delivering Technology Training Program for older persons, designed to address technological gaps among older persons. 8. Sealine Resort, Banana Resort, Baladna Farms, Sidra Farms, Islamic Arts Museum, among others: Partner in hosting trips, leisure activities for older persons throughout the year.

Older people’s involvement: Older people were involved in the age-friendly practice at multiple or all stages

Details on older people’s involvement: Members of Ehsan Club are given opportunities to contribute in the process of making the program their own. Ehsan aims to strengthen the principles of active ageing to promote both individual level engagement and expand opportunities for club members to remain or become involved, with the belief that older person’s participation improves quality of life and the well-being of club members. That is why club members are given the opportunity to suggest activities or programs based on their needs.

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: Yes

Was the impact positive or negative:
Positive

Feedback:
Ehsan Club started in one location in Doha. After the success of the first experience, and based on popular demand in the Qatari community, Ehsan opened in three more locations, and there are plans in place to open one more location this year.

Expansion plans:
Due to the success and the positive immediate impact of Ehsan Club in the Qatari society, more and more municipalities around Qatar have been requesting that Ehsan opens more locations. The club started in one location in Doha, then opened another club in Izghawa area, then expanded again in Al Shamal area. Most recently, Ehsan activated a “Majlis” for men in Doha (traditional Qatari community gathering for men to recite poetry, promote social interaction and take part in activities and workshops). Currently, there are plans to open one more club in a different location.

Looking back

Challenges:
The popularity and success of day care services for older persons in Qatar has been the main catalyst behind expansion processes currently underway. The exciting challenge for Ehsan has been to maintain the same levels of quality in program delivery and recruit the right type of employees necessary not to just continue the current levels of success, but also to add value to the program. Quality is being controlled through emphasizing the importance of the values that guide the organization and train staff on how to properly deal with the needs of older persons, and encourage staff to embrace their role as champions of the organizational culture of empowering, caring for and serving older persons in the Qatari community. Ehsan also actively seeks to keep up to date with current trends and ideas that can prove innovative, applicable and culturally acceptable in the Qatari community, and translate those ideas into solutions on the ground.