For more than fifty years, Kishan Devi has called Anna Nagar slum her home. She came to Delhi as a young bride, carrying simple hopes for a stable life. Her husband worked as a daily wage labourer, and together they raised three sons in the crowded lanes of the settlement. Life was never easy, but they managed.
Twenty years ago, her husband passed away, leaving Kishan Devi to face life alone. As the years went by and her sons began their own families, her world slowly grew smaller. The narrow space of her one-room home became the boundary of her days.
Four years ago, osteoarthritis began to take hold of her body. The pain in her knees grew worse with time, gradually bending her leg and making walking extremely difficult. Even a few steps outside her house became exhausting. For Kishan Devi, the loss of mobility also meant the loss of independence.
Everything began to change when she became connected with Asha’s geriatric care programme. What started as a visit to the Asha centre soon became part of her daily life. Each day, she comes to the centre not only for the Love and Lunch programme but also for the care and companionship she finds there.
At the centre, Asha’s Senior Nurse Practitioner regularly checks her health and provides the medicines she needs. But the turning point came when the team realised how serious her knee condition had become and referred her to the Asha physiotherapy clinic.
At the clinic, she began regular physiotherapy using modern equipment under the careful guidance of trained therapists. Week after week, she followed the exercises with determination. Slowly, the stiffness in her knees began to ease. The constant pain that once controlled her days began to reduce. Step by step, her movement improved.
Today, Kishan Devi walks with far greater confidence than before. She is now able to move around her home independently and once again manages all her daily household chores on her own. The smile on her face has returned, along with a renewed sense of confidence.
For her, the physiotherapy clinic is not simply a place of treatment. It is where she regained strength, movement, and the ability to live her life with independence once again.
For many elderly residents in the slum communities, growing old often means facing illness alone without access to care. Through Asha’s geriatric services and physiotherapy clinic, people like Kishan Devi receive the medical attention, rehabilitation, and human connection they need to continue living with strength and renewed purpose.
