The Seychelles Alzheimer’s Foundation flies to Praslin |08 October 2020

On October 3, members of the Seychelles Alzheimer's Foundation (SAF) took to the air en route for Praslin, for a series of presentations on Alzheimer's. 

This follows a month of intense awareness-raising on the ravages of the disease. September is Alzheimer's month globally, and SAF was very present in the media (newspaper, TV and radio) and on the streets of Victoria throughout the month.  Indeed, a few members and non-members of our Foundation were interviewed about the activities of SAF and also about caring for Alzheimer sufferers, which is no easy task.

Some young volunteers also helped with the distribution of flyers and stickers asking for a small donation in return.

On September 25, SAF also organised a fundraising fine-dining event which was well-attended and very successful. 

The Support Group also met at the Exiles Club to talk about various issues surrounding the disease.
Praslin and La Digue have been on the SAF agenda for a while.  The last time the SAF team was on Praslin and La Digue to carry out any training was in June 2019, so this visit was long overdue. 

Michel Nibourette, manager of Castello Beach Hotel at Anse Kerlan, graciously offered the use of the hotel’s airy premises for the presentations, which focused on a description of what Alzheimer’s is, how to care for Alzheimer sufferers, how to keep them safe in the house and how to get them to exercise so that they remain active and healthy for as long as possible. 

The presentations were facilitated by Dame Lise Church, patron of SAF, Anne Marie Vel and Geralda Charlette, both members of the Foundation and who have vast experience with Alzheimer patients. 

The 17 participants who attended came from various backgrounds and most had knowledge of someone with Alzheimer’s, a relative, friend or patients, as in the case of the 3 nurses, who were also present.  

At the end of the day, all the participants had a better knowledge of Alzheimer’s, claiming that they were now in a better position to detect the early signs of dementia.

“Many doctors need this type of training,” one nurse said. “When an old person is seen by a doctor and s/he mentions that s/he has memory problems, the doctors often say that it’s old age and the patient is dismissed without any proper tests. It could be the first sign of dementia, and it should become mandatory that after the age of 60, everyone be tested for dementia. More training of health professionals is important.” 

Indeed, this is one of the objectives of SAF:  to help in the detection of early dementia, but it needs the cooperation of the Ministry of Health to be able to do this.  Dr Annia Rousseau and Dr Rodrigues Lezcano are currently putting together a project to do just that.

“Overall the presentations were extremely informative,” another participant said.  “We badly need trained carers who are specialised in Alzheimer’s. A centre for Alzheimer patients is also a must.” 

All participants agreed that more of these presentations are extremely important, not only for families who are looking after a relative with Alzheimer’s but also for the general public so that people become more aware of the disease. People are now living longer, so the chance of getting Alzheimer’s increases.  As there is no cure for the disease right now, living with it and knowing how to manage it is important.

“SAF will go back to Praslin and La Digue early next year to continue on its mission of raising awareness in the community,” Dame Lise Church vowed.  “We are grateful to everyone who helped us put this together, namely Mandy Pool and Juliette Debaune for coordinating the event on Praslin.”

The accompanying photos show some highlights of the workshop.

Contributed by NL, a SAF team member