India's booming population of above one billion people; the second most populous country in the world, and improved life expectancy have led to an increasingly large number of people over the age of 60. There are now 77 million elderly people in India and this number is expected to rise to 178 million by 2030. The majority of the elderly are very poor and live in rural areas. The government pension scheme currently reaches only 2.76 million out of 28 million elderly people, mainly urban. The elderly have little hope of escaping poverty and their situation only becomes worse as they get older and they are increasingly plagued by chronic health problems. Impoverished elderly women face a particularly difficult situation, especially those who are widows. Given their low rank in society, the inability to work can mean an inability to survive on their own.

In July 2003, GRAVIS began working on a new initiative focusing on the empowerment of the elderly in the Thar Desert. The new initiative, entitled Assimilated Development of Older People in the Thar Desert (ADOPT), is currently funded by the European Commission through Help Age International (HAI) and aims to support the socio-economic development of disadvantaged older people through the organization of community based organizations for the elderly, the construction or reconstruction of rainwater harvesting structures, organic agriculture trainings and technical assistance, and livestock distribution. GRAVIS currently operates this program in 18 villages in two districts, with 8,000 direct beneficiaries. With this program, GRAVIS hopes to meet the basic needs of the elderly beneficiaries, improve the quality of their lives and reinforce the development capacities of older people within their communities.

Village Old People's Associations (VOPAs)

GRAVIS has formed 18 Village Old People's Associations (VOPAs), one per village. Each VOPA has 10-12 members, coming from all sections of the village society and castes, who represent the elderly of the village. The VOPAs form plans, make decisions, and are the main link between GRAVIS and the elderly community. The VOPAs also act as a platform for the elderly to talk about relative issues and for information dissemination on nutrition, health, and hygiene. Some VOPAs have also been collecting and redistributing village funds to those in need.

Sub-committees

Due to the large and widely spread out nature of villages in the Thar Desert GRAVIS has formed Older Men's and Women's sub-committees of the VOPAs, which allow for better representation of more elderly people. The sub-committees also allow for women to play a greater role in the planning process as they can have their own all-women's meetings and feel comfortable to speak and plan, which does not often happen in mixed meetings. There are currently 42 Older Women's Sub-committees and 41 Older Men's Sub-committees. The Older Women's Sub-committees are responsible for the planning and implementation of the drinking water and domestic water supply program, fruit and vegetable propagation and the livestock activities. The Older Men's Sub-committees are responsible for the planning and implementation of the sustainable agriculture activities.

POC Project

In 2008, GRAVIS will launch a new programme for older people entitled as "Promoting Older People led Community Action to reduce poverty among vulnerable groups in Thar Desert", or the POC project. With the support of the European Union and Help Age International, the project will benefit 12 remote villages.