Social Worker Lidwin Lobo Crusades for Alzheimer’s Disease
Dr Olinda Pereira and Dr Prabha Adhikari, the President and Vice President of PAGE respectively, have cordially invited you all for the Valedictory Ceremony of “World Alzheimer’s Day” to be held at Town Hall-Mangaluru, tomorrow, 21 September at 9 am. A galaxy of VIPs have agreed to grace this occasion, namely U T Khader – Minister Food & Civil Supplies -Karnataka State; Krishna Palemar -Former District In-charge; Dr K G Jagadisha, IAS, – Deputy Commissioner, DK; Chandrasekhar IPS-Commissioner of Police, Mangaluru City; Sunder Poojary – Dy. Director, Dept. Of Women & Child Development; Jayaram Bhat-Chairman & MD -Karnataka Bank; A J Shetty – Chairman, A.J.I.M.S,R.; Manjunath Bhandary – Chairman, Sahyadri Group of Institutions among others. “Being Old is a Blessing and so please Come to Witness The Wonderful Amalgamation of Youth and Wisdom”- Be there, To Care! With your support and encouragement, we can all “Make Mangaluru Dementia Friendly”.
Mangaluru: City of Mangaluru has taken its First step towards a “Dementia Friendly City” with the theme “Remember Me”, while launching the “World Alzheimer’s Month-September 2016” on 1 September to raise awareness of Dementia and Challenge stigma, in association with ‘PAGE’ (People’s Association for Geriatric Empowerment) comprising of Karnataka Bank, Vishwas Trust, Spoorthi Charitable Trust, Susheng Trust, Ave Maria Palliative Care Home, KMC Nava Chaitanya Attavar and Bejai, AGE Mangalore, Mangalore Senior Citizen Association, A V Baliga Trust-Udupi, KMC-Mangalore, AJ Institute of Medical Sciences, Roshni Nilaya and other Schools of Social Sciences, St Agnes Special School Teacher Trainees, among many others.
Apart from these organizations, there are individuals who have gone out of their way to spend more time of theirs in spreading the message and bring awareness on Alzheimer’s disease, which is one of the diseases spreading fast among seniors- these individuals to name a few, like Er Jerardin D’Souza- Founder of Mangalore Alzheimer’s association, Dr Olinda Pereira- Director of Vishwas Trust for Elderly, Dr Prabha Adhikari- Former HOD of Medicine, KMC and Founder of Navachaitanya and many others have worked hard to make a difference in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. With their dedication, commitment, sacrifice and efforts they all can make it happen.. a World without Alzheimer’s disease, or for that matter, making Mangaluru a “Dementia Friendly City”.
Yet another person, a senior citizen who is 68 years young has also followed in the footsteps of these above Alzheimer’s crusaders, who also aims in making it happen..a world without Alzheimer’s disease. She is passionate, inspired and also wants to make a difference in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Spending few hours daily apart from her regular assignment as co-ordinator the Senior Citizen Helpline Number (centre) 1090 run by Vishwas Trust in collaboration with the Mangaluru Police at the premises of the Pandeshwar police station which focuses on issues related to the elderly in the district, with Mangaluru having no exception to cases of ‘elderly abuse’, Lidwin handles nearly 100 calls a month on an average, which proves the city’s apathy towards its senior citizens. In spite of this busy job, this dedicated and committed Senior Citizen still made time to spread the message of “World Alzheimer’s Month”, thereby bringing awareness on Alzheimer’s disease – she is none other than Lidwin Lobo, a active social service worker committed to make a difference in the community through her volunteer work.
Lidwin Lobo has taken a step in volunteering as a way to fight against Alzheimer’s Disease. Since the inauguration of “World Alzheimer’s Month” Lidwin became dedicated to the mission of bringing more awareness to the local community about the disease and letting people know that early diagnosis and being proactive is key. Moving forward, Lidwin has set her sights on reaching those beyond this community, aiming for politicians and corporations, schools and colleges, auto-rickshaw drivers and bus drivers, among many others. She has also visited the Mangaluru Head Post-Office and distributed brochures about Alzheimer’s and also briefed them about the disease.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Lidwin said, “Dementia can affect all aspects of a person’s life, as well as their families. If you have been diagnosed with dementia, or you are caring for someone with the condition, remember that there is advice and support available to help you live well. People with dementia shouldn’t simply stop doing what they enjoy in life; instead, they should try to remain as independent as possible and continue to enjoy their usual activities. Over time, people with dementia will need help to cope at home, and they may even need residential care in a nursing home eventually. If you know anyone suffering from Dementia, you can contact one of the PAGE members or Vishwas Trust or Mangalore Alzheimer’s Association. We need more volunteers to bring awareness about Alzheimer’s disease, and also to help those who are afflicted with Alzheimer’s. I feel proud to be associated with PAGE, and will try my best to make a difference in the community, and also make Mangaluru, a Dementia Friendly City”.
‘World Alzheimer’s Month’, is an international campaign to raise awareness of Dementia and challenge stigma. Alzheimer’s is an ailment which in simple language, takes one away from the reality of the present situation. Normally it is associated with forgetfulness. It is not just simple forgetfulness. It is an inability to relate the past to the present. In the final stages one no more recognizes one’s own family, he or she lives with, mistakenly takes the kitchen for the toilet or any other such gross discrepancies. Today while Alzheimer’s is spreading fast, we have to find means of avoiding it by keeping the mind active, playing indoor games, solving crossword puzzles and other such, without getting alarmed over forgetfulness of immediate things which comes with ageing.
At the same time, the past is almost indelibly written in the memory. We must keep our minds active and receptive at all times. Dementia is a term used to describe different brain disorders that affect memory, thinking, behaviour and emotion. This disease knows no social, economic or ethnic boundaries. Alzheimer’s has no current cure, but treatments for symptoms are available and research continues. Although current Alzheimer’s treatments cannot stop Alzheimer’s from progressing, they can temporarily slow the worsening of dementia symptoms and improve the quality of life for those with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. Today, there is a worldwide effort under way to find better ways to treat the disease, delay its onset, and prevent it from developing.
Organizations like PAGE/Mangalore Alzheimer’s Association (MAA) and many other associations/medical and social institutions are now bound to play an important role in caring for the elderly with symptoms of Alzheimer’s/Dementia. They say that Dementia has no cure, but a lot can be achieved by proper care and awareness projects organized by these concerned organizations, who have come forward to the rescue of the Dementia affected people. During this Alzheimer’s Month, PAGE members have been encouraging people to learn to spot the signs of dementia, but also not to forget about loved ones who are living with dementia, or those who may have passed away. What is Dementia? It is a disease of the brain with the death of nerve cells in the brain and its connections. Although it starts with memory loss, as the disease spreads to other parts of the brain, the individual loses his ability to speak, understand, calculate, judge, and slowly changes the person and his personality beyond recognition. In its final stages, the disease affects his ability to speak, eat, bathe, walk or self-care completely that he becomes totally dependent. During the past few weeks, they have brought awareness about this disease through various programmes in trying to improve the quality of life of those suffering from dementia and their Carers.
Dr Olinda Pereira and Dr Prabha Adhikari, the President and Vice President of PAGE have cordially invited you all join the Valedictory Ceremony of “World Alzheimer’s Day” to be held at the Town Hall-Mangaluru, tomorrow, 21 September at 9 am.
“Being Old is a Blessing and so please Come to Witness The Wonderful Amalgamation of Youth and Wisdom”- Be there, To Care! With your support and encouragement we can all ”Make Mangaluru Dementia Friendly”.
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