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Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

On a mission Ryo Takahashi

“Sensitivity is the prerequisite of a human being but unfortunately it seems to be increasingly lacking among the people in developing nations,” feels Ryo Takahasi, Creative Director of the Centre for Gerontology at the Nippon Care-Fit Service Association (NCSA), who is in the metro in connection with the inauguration of Andhra University – NCSA Centre for Gerontology on Saturday.

Hardly into his fourth visit to the city, he seems to have already gathered a lot of information about it. Andhra University is the first university in India that had established a Department of Social Work. Visakhapatnam is not only an industrial city but also has several Buddhist heritage sites.

“I have visited some of the Buddhist sites like Thotlakonda during my earlier tours. After 10 years you (people in Vizag) may not be able to move around freely,” he says, underlining the need to create a barrier-free environment for the aged and the physically challenged.

“The barrier free laws were enacted in the West in 1974 and 20 years later in Japan. The first obstacle caused by age and congenital deformity is ‘diminished sight’. A person gets 80 per cent of the information by looking at things. In the absence of sight, he/she has to depend on other faculties like hearing, sense of touch and mental reasoning,” Dr. Takahasi told The Hindu MetroPlus.

He underlined the importance of creating special facilities on the roads, in public transport, movie theatres and libraries to enable the aged and disabled to move on their own in wheel chairs without depending on others or with a little help.

These measures will go a long way in the boosting the self-esteem of senior citizens.

“The average life span in Japan is 82 years, and the oldest man in the world is 112-year- old Tamoji Tanabe who hails from Miyakonojo in southern Japan. The average life span is increasing the world over and there is every need to utilise the services of the elderly for the benefit of the community.”

NCSA was established as a non-profit organisation on November 1, 1999 with the objective of creating a safe social and psychological environment for senior citizens, people with disabilities and children.

“Our goal is to improve communication among family members by making using the technological improvements like mobile phones and offering skill training.

The centre provides training to individuals who are interested in taking up service of the aged and the invalid either as a profession or otherwise,” he said.

“We follow the SOUL theory, i.e., See, Observe, Understand and Learning from human nature including sound. Through these principles educational curriculum can be developed for people throughout the world,” he adds.

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