Starter Kit. Idea 360 of 500. Cluster 17
Fitness and rehabilitation centres for the over-sixties, which nobody has built
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.
The first step
Book a community hall for 2 mornings a week for a month and run a gentle exercise class for people over 60, led by a qualified instructor, at a small fee per class. Tell 10 families abroad that their parent is welcome and that you will send a monthly attendance note. Steady attendance and a paying child abroad tell you whether a centre would fill.
- Who pays first
- A child abroad whose parent sits at home all day, and who would pay for a place where that parent meets people and keeps moving.
- What leaves today
- Nobody at home has built for older people who want to stay active; a centre turns money from Sri Lankans abroad into a local business and paid instructors.
Ask first
- the local council (Municipal Council, Urban Council or Pradeshiya Sabha). Ask whether a community hall can be used for regular paid classes.
- the area Medical Officer of Health. Ask what safety rules apply to exercise classes for older people.
Check before you spend
The instructor's qualification to teach older people, a health form for each member, insurance, and a plan if someone falls or feels unwell.
Find out these three numbers
- How many people attend steadily over a month?
- What fee per class will members or their children pay?
- What do the hall and the instructor cost each month?
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
From the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? by Dr Maheshika Halbeisen. The idea and the mechanism are the book's; this kit was written for the site.