Parangiyawadiya is a small village located in Horowpathana town of Anuradhapura district. A total of 64 families reside in the village. The most commonly found livelihoods was paddy farming, chena cultivation and animal husbandry, which the livelihoods were also very common among elders living in the village, leaving barely any time for them to participate in any leisure activities. It was also found that, most of the elders suffer from non-communicable diseases such as CKDu, and often obtain treatment from government hospitals.

Upul Elders’ Society was established and registered under the government to reduce the stress encountered by elders in Parangiyawadiya village and improve their mental health. However, due to lack of active members in the society and poor administration, the society was not functioning properly. Subsequently, BDS in partnership with Help Age Sri Lanka (HASL) intervened to jointly implement a project called “promoting active ageing by introducing health care systems, while ensuring income security”.

BDS & HASL provided interventions to improve health and eye sight among elders and further provided capacity building trainings, including leadership management trainings, book keeping and financial record keeping. The society was subsequently re-established, and monthly fees are now collected. BDS conducted mobile medical camps with support from the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) in the area, and those who were identified to be suffering from diseases were referred to government hospitals, along with providing the facility for cataract operations and also spectacles.

With the guidance of BDS and HASL, Upul society was also able to address burning social issues such as lack of access to clean water in the village. Subsequently, they now provide 1000 liters of clean drinking water to the government hospital every month, thereby serving their village. The society has gained respect among villagers and their memberships have also increased.