HelpAge India rolls out its ‘MaaKaMahatva’ initiative, marking Mother’s Day

To mark Mother’s Day (May 10), HelpAge India launched its emotionally resonant campaign #MaaKaMahatva, a nationwide initiative celebrating the unconditional love and silent strength of mothers, while drawing urgent attention to the growing neglect and loneliness faced by many elderly women in India.

Through #MaaKaMahatva, it urges people to reflect on the needs of older women as years catch on. To start within their own homes, to nurture those who have nurtured us all our lives. A call out to give back!

On ground across different states, HelpAge India is celebrating the day with their ‘elderly mothers and grandmothers’ residing in their senior care homes, transforming the homes into spaces of celebration and inter-generational connections, through engagements with schoolchildren, youth groups and local communities. Cultural programmes, storytelling and poetry sessions, singing and dance performances, painting activities, musical events, games and much more, will resound across these homes, celebrating the spirit & quiet strength of motherhood, with one core message – Lets look after our mothers in their later years!

“For most of us, our mother is our first home, our first teacher, our strongest support - playing one of the most significant and enduring roles in our lives. Yet, this is also the relationship we most often take for granted. As time passes, vulnerabilities set in and the nurturer begins to need nurturing. Our 2023 ‘Women & Ageing’ research shows that 67% of older women continue in caregiving roles, while their own health, emotional and financial needs are quietly sidelined, often at the cost of their well‑being. For those who are widowed or living alone, challenges multiply and loneliness becomes even more acute. Through #MaaKaMahatva, we want to remind society that caring for our mothers in later life is not just a tribute or an emotional sentiment but a shared responsibility to ensure dignity, care, and our presence in their advancing years.”
- Rohit Prasad, CEO, HelpAge India

The campaign is anchored by heartfelt messages from accomplished film & theatre artists Soha Ali Khan, Adil Hussain, Sohaila Kapur  and badminton icon Saina Nehwal who lent their voices to the initiative, through deeply moving personal messages, remembering moments shared with their mother, the impact she had on their lives, in shaping them into who they are today.

It also witnessed support from multiple creators and digital storytellers, who shared their emotional and personal moments around motherhood. The initiative urges people to pause amidst their busy lives and reconnect with the elderly women who spent a lifetime holding their families together and support those who have none.

Through its healthcare, age care, livelihood and empowerment initiatives, HelpAge India will continue to focus on transforming elder lives, with special focus on older women, so they live their later years surrounded by care, love and dignity.

At a time when conversations around ageing and elder wellbeing are becoming increasingly important in India, #MaaKaMahatva reinforces HelpAge India’s larger commitment towards building an age-inclusive and compassionate society where no mother has to age feeling forgotten.