Widowed years ago and abandoned by her sons after her eldest died in a train accident, Rabeya Begum, 80, was living in deprivation until she got shelter in the Old Care Home in Jessore. For the past 12 years, she has shared the shelter with other elderly women, receiving food, clothing, and care.
The Old Care Home was founded in 2012 by Jossna Mukharjee in Samsapur village of Jessore Sadar Upazila. Built on five bighas of land along the Bhairab River, it serves as a safe haven for destitute mothers in their final years.
While talking to Dhaka Tribune, Upazila Social Services Officer Ashikuzzaman Tuhin calls it a home “in the heart of nature,” adding that such initiatives bring peace to elderly residents.
Twenty elderly women currently live there, addressing Jossna as “Amma” or “Khala.”
Rokeya Begum, 75, from Muradgarh village, said, “My husband is no longer alive, and my sons neglected me. I came here 13 years ago and have been well looked after by Amma ever since.”
The women receive three meals a day, clothes, toiletries, blankets, and medicines. Four doctors provide regular phone consultations, and occasional medical camps are held.
Jossna’s inspiration came in 1998 after visiting retirement homes in Barrackpore, West Bengal. She began helping local elderly women in 2008 from a mud house, and in 2010, her father gifted her land for the shelter. Construction started in 2012 with Tk 400,000. The home became registered under the Department of Social Services in 2014, gained a hall room in 2017, and replaced tin roofs with concrete ones in 2020.
Residents say they live comfortably, enjoying daily gatherings, cultural events, and biannual trips. A plot has been purchased for burying residents without relatives.
Jossna told Dhaka Tribune the funding for the home comes mainly from her own income through rice husk trading, rentals, farming, and livestock. Vegetables and fruits are grown on-site, with cows, goats, and poultry offsetting expenses.
Around 20–25 women stay at the home, cared for by three local women. Monthly costs average Tk20,000, partly supported by rice from the district administration and occasional donations.
Jossna Mukharjee said it has become extremely difficult for her to bear the home’s expenses solely on her own income. She earnestly appealed to affluent members of society to stand by her.
Jossna also dreams of expanding the Old Care Home.
“We still haven’t been able to build a boundary wall. I also want to construct a two-room building on the riverbank where at least five elderly fathers can live,” she said.
