The first time I met Rossbina Nathoo we stood near the purple park at Coral Springs BLVD in NorthEast. We smiled, introduced ourselves and talked for about 10 minutes. She was accompanied with her friend and I was on my way to morning walk. Like many who meet her, I had not hoped that people like her can do wonders in the field of Senior Citizens care but on my subsequent meetings especially during my morning walks with her, I realized that this lady is a social butterfly. She loves connecting with people and not only this she is devoting special time to seniors, helping them with their basic needs as well as organising and hosting multicultural events for them.

Rossbina, 53, has already brought about a big change in the life style of elderly people. In the past few months she has reached out to a large number of old people helping them in the fields of education, computer literacy and fitness programmes. Recently her new seniors group F.O.C.U.S ( primarily Ismaili based community)  joined with members of other cultural groups for a rice based lunch called the Rice Festival. About 260 people attended the function. The event was attended by Koreans, Chinese, Ismailis and  Philippines. “ We held this function to bridge the gap between various cultures and it was a big success” says Rossbina with a smile on her face. The variety of the crowd from various backgrounds filled the Pineridge Community Centre with zest and enthusiasm in which cultural dances were presented by the seniors.

When asked what are the real problems being faced by the Seniors?  She is  moved and shows concern. She highlights that all the seniors face similar kind of problems and these include loneliness, cultural barriers, lack of transportation and inaccessibility. Their biggest problem is that they are isolated in their own homes, they  are either babysitters or they take refuge to television. The environment of the society is as such that there is no time for the other members of the family to share their thoughts with the elderly people at home. “Therefore,the main objective of the FOCUS is to show them life outside their homes,” quips Rossbina.  Just a year back,  Nathoo started an education programme with the help of her friends and Heart of the North East Community Solution Resource Centre, they personally invited every senior they knew asking them to attend the meeting at  The Village Square Library & Leisure Centre.

They hoped for less people but they received 100 people instead. Since then the group is running the computer classes for seniors at the Library. Nathoo also arranged for English as a second language conversation classes to aquacize and badminton club. She tells that only 25 to 30 seniors come out for education purpose and it gives her a sense of fulfilment though she wants that more communities should join their group. Each Programme runs for 5 Tuesdays afternoon in a row, after completing the course the members can cycle into another class. At the end of each 5 week session , a celebration of achievement lunch is organised. It is basically a social interaction programme where seniors are awarded certificates of excellence to become better in their chosen fields.

The group FOCUS also provide entertainment. Only recently they organised a fashion show for the seniors by the seniors. Ask her who has inspired her from her family and friends to which she says, “ I am a self made person but I feel the endurance comes from my father”. She is happy to have been married to a man who is always encouraging her to support Ismailis and members of other cultural groups.