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Daksha Bhat, Founder & Director of Silversmile Elder Care Foundation, India
We are delighted Daksha Bhat from India has accepted our offer of a scholarship to attend the Global Ageing Network/Curaviva Global Ageing Conference, 18-21 September 2017, Montreux, Switzerland.
The Founder & Director of Silversmile Elder Care Foundation, Daksha’s two point agenda is to increase awareness about dementia and to provide support to the elderly who have dementia and their caregivers. Under the banner of Varishta, she is developing initiatives to contribute to a discourse on the incidence, prevalence, diagnosis and management of dementia in the elderly, and is setting up assessment, training and care centres.
Daksha applied for the scholarship as awareness and support for the needs of the elderly with dementia is very low in India. She says there is very little awareness, understanding and sensitivity about age related issues and dementia.
“There is a lack of social or financial security; specialised geriatric medical care; access to counselling; residential and care facilities; supportive government policies and community initiatives,” she says. “There is also exclusion from economic and social activities, and poor self image and inability to demand their own rights.”
“In order to change the situation I want to connect with a helpful network for exposure, learning and motivation,” says Daksha. “I am looking to develop my own skills to train and teach others about dementia.”
By attending the conference, she hopes she will get exposure to cultures and initiatives that have a relatively long history, experience and infrastructure in the field. “I want to learn about challenges and best practices and gain an insight into how others implement their ideas successfully,” she adds. Plus she is looking to develop a network that can help motivate and enrich her ability to bring about change.
After the conference, Daksha will translate the best practices she has learned and translate them into the Indian cultural and social environment.
“I will be better equipped to set up assessment and daycare services, create training centres for caregivers, and to inspire people to contribute to the ideal of a dementia friendly society,” she says.
Passionate about learning new things, innovating and making things work better Daksha says she seeks perfection and simplicity.
“I have had a varied career, with hands on project management experience, from design to implementation and administration,” she says. “Dementia is my latest challenge and probably the most difficult and socially relevant of all.”
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