Idea 343 of 500. Cluster 17: Health, care and the parents of Sri Lankans abroad
A daily check-in service: a nurse's visit, a photograph, a message to the child abroad
The mechanism, from the book
Sri Lankans abroad have parents at home whom they cannot look after from Melbourne. They will pay, and the money stays.
Every idea in cluster 17 uses this mechanism.
A first step
Recruit one retired nurse in your town for mornings, then offer five families abroad a free fortnight: a short visit to their parent each day, one photograph and a two-line message sent before they wake. On the last day, name a monthly price and ask who wants to continue. If 2 of the 5 pay, you have a service; if none do, ask each family what was missing.
- Who pays first
- A daughter abroad who phones every evening and cannot tell from the voice whether her father has eaten, and would pay for someone who can see.
- What leaves today
- Children abroad send money home with no eyes on the result; a daily visit record gives them the proof they now fly home to get.
The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.
In the book
- Ch. EightWhat It Costs to Go First
Remittances and what it costs the first one to go - Ch. SixteenThe Bridge
The institutions already in existence that could carry value back
More from cluster 17
- 341Home-care agencies with trained, vetted carers, booked and paid from abroad
- 342Assisted-living homes for the parents of Sri Lankans abroad, with the standard published and inspected
- 344Medical escort services: a nurse takes the parent to the appointment and reports back
- 345Pharmacy delivery with the prescription managed and the refills tracked
- 346Dementia day-care centres, which hardly exist yet and are needed everywhere
- 347Physiotherapy at home for the elderly, subscription-priced
Idea 343 of the 500 in the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? Every one can be started by one person, one family or one small firm.