Dementia Education Seminar for Indian Seniors Group

(Credits: Ms Anju Mathur)

Dementia Support Group for Indian Australians (DSGIA) and Federation of Indian Associations of NSW (FIAN) conducted Dementia Education Seminar for Indian Seniors Group – Hornsby on 17th June 2018.

The Dementia event was attended by over 70 seniors from Indian Seniors Group Hornsby as well as by distinguished community leaders, Executive members of DSGIA and community members.

Mr Dave Passi – President of Indian Seniors Group – Hornsby gave a warm welcome to Ms Anju Mathur-Dementia consultant, Founder & President of Dementia Support Group for Indian Australians, and one of the main speakersfor the Dementia Education Seminar. Dr Yadu Singh, President of Federation of Indian Associations of NSW (FIAN) in his speech shared with the audience the main objectives of Dementia Support Group for Indian Australians (DSGIA) which is to educate the community about Dementia as a chronic health condition; increase understanding in the community about living with dementia and working together with community organisations to address this disease.

Ms Anju Mathur shared with the audience her passion for capacity building for understanding of dementia and also breaking the stigma attached with dementia especially amongst culturally and linguistically diverse communities by conducting dementia awareness presentations like this in the community and sharing the referral pathways to access support and assistance not just for person living with dementia but also their carers/family members.

Her presentation included key points about dementiaas a major health challenge, preceded by cardiovascular disease and about dementia as the second major cause of death in Australia. She shared statistics on number of people living with dementia in Australia and its projected increase in numbers by 2050. Her presentation was on connection between heart health and brain health and explained about importance of risk reduction as a key strategy to combat this chronic disease by making simple lifestyle changes such as including regular exercise, following a healthy diet, remaining mentally and socially active – all factors playing an important part in a person’s brain health.

She had invited a speaker from Dementia Australia, Ms Vandita Nijhawan -an experienced counsellor at Dementia Australia working in Western Sydney to present on services offered by Dementia Australia and on how the brain works and changes to memory and thinking as we age.

The presentations were very well received by the audience and generated lot of discussions amongst the group. The presentations were followed by afternoon tea that was organised by Ms Anju Mathur and kindly donated by Sharma’s Kitchen. Ms Mathur thanked her sponsors – Mrs and Mr Sharma from Sharma’s Kitchen.

Executive Team of Dementia Support Group for Indian Australians:

Ms Anju Mathur – President; Mr VipulGoyal – Secretary; Mr Hemanth Gangu – Treasurer;

Executive Members: Dr Yadu Singh; Dr Manish Bhutada; Mrs Rekha Rajvanshi; Mr Satish Mathur.