St Lucia facing dementia care crisis?
Saint Lucia could be facing a crisis in providing care for its elderly citizens suffering from dementia, but is not doing enough to prepare to meet this challenge. This was the message given at the conference organised by Saint Lucia’s Alzheimer’s and Dementia Association (SLADA) and Age Caribbean, held on Saturday 17th June.
The conference was aimed at giving health care professionals and carers a better understanding of the world of individuals afflicted with dementia and providing advice and support to those delivering day-to-day care to sufferers of the disease.
Dr James Bratt, geriatric psychiatrist from Age Caribbean, defined dementia as ‘a disease of the brain marked by a change in brain function serious enough to interfere with day-to-day life.’ There is no cure for the disease, but therapies and medication are available to help slow down its progression and improve the sufferer’s quality of life. Dr. Bratt outlined some of the different types of dementia, how to detect its early signs, the process of diagnosis, treatment and the different stages of the disease.
Nurse, Regina Posvar, from (SLADA), delivered an interactive session, addressing issues such as communicating and interacting with dementia sufferers, managing difficult behavior and devising activities to help stimulate them.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) approximately 47 million people world-wide suffer from dementia and there are at least 9.9 million new cases each year. It is projected that the total number of dementia sufferers will be close to 75 million by 2030. This will almost triple by 2050. Most of the increase will come from those living in low and middle-income countries, such as St Lucia.
The WHO report (2012) ‘Dementia, a public health priority’, states that governments must take immediate action. Dementia must be made a national public health and social care priority. Public and professional attitudes to and understanding of dementia must be addressed. There is a need for investment in health and social systems to improve care and services for people with dementia and their caregivers.
Dr Bratt pointed out that preventative work, such as reducing incidences of strokes and diabetes, could make a good contribution to keeping the number of dementia sufferers down.
People can live for a long time with dementia and this can be very demanding on family members, who are usually trying to take care of them with little or no support from government.
Nurse Pervus said that before the turn of the century, women were having approximately 5-6 children and about two of them would stay and be able to care for an older parent. This average has been reduced, so now older parents are likely to be without family support. The anticipated increase in the incidence of Alzheimer’s and related dementias combined with the decrease in family size is likely to have a devastating effect on countries like St Lucia.
The significant rise in dementia sufferers is a global issue, which, according to Nurse Pervus, “…our region has not taken seriously enough. It is imperative that a plan of action is put in place to address the health care of older people and for this to include a specific plan of action for dementia.”
According to the CIA World Fact Book, between 2010 and 2016 the number of people in St Lucia aged 65 and over increased by 25%. In order to avert the coming crisis, governments should act now and not ignore the warning signs. The ministries and organisations concerned with the welfare of older people need to come together to devise awareness raising campaigns so that people can learn more about dementia, including how to detect early signs of the disease. Policies and plans need to be put in place, relevant professionals and carers need to be trained so that the country can become ‘dementia ready’ and dementia sufferers and their carers can get the support they need.
Published in St Lucia Times 22.6.17
https://stluciatimes.com/2017/06/22/saint-lucia-facing-dementia-care-crisis
Tribute to a warri champion
Warri champion of Barbados dies at age 93
Champion warri player, Benjamin White, known by most as Ben Ben or Ben E King, passed away on 29th May 2015.
Benjamin White was born at Round The Town in Speightstown, St Peter, where he spent most of his life. According to his nephew, Vincie White, “Our uncle grew up during a period where educational opportunities for black people were scarce in Barbados, but he had a very sharp mind.”
Benjamin developed a passion for the very mathematically challenging and strategising game of warri which dates back as far as the Ancient Egyptians. Warri is the one of the oldest surviving games in the world and was brought to Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean by the African slaves. It belongs to the group of Pit and Pebble Games which have different names around the world. Among the Yoruba people it is called Ayò, Oware by the Akan, Wari in Mali and Warri in the Caribbean. In Barbados, the game is played with forty-eight seeds or marbles on a rectangular board which has twelve receptacles or ‘houses’ arranged in six pairs along the length of the board. At the start of the game, four seeds are placed in each house. The object of the game is to capture most of the forty-eight seeds. The winner of the game is the player who captures more than twenty-four seeds. If both players capture twenty-four seeds, the game is declared a draw. The champion of a tournament is the first player to win six games.
Champion warri player, Benjamin White, known by most as Ben Ben or Ben E King, passed away on 29th May 2015.
Benjamin White was born at Round The Town in Speightstown, St Peter, where he spent most of his life. According to his nephew, Vincie White, “Our uncle grew up during a period where educational opportunities for black people were scarce in Barbados, but he had a very sharp mind.”
Benjamin developed a passion for the very mathematically challenging and strategising game of warri which dates back as far as the Ancient Egyptians. Warri is the one of the oldest surviving games in the world and was brought to Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean by the African slaves. It belongs to the group of Pit and Pebble Games which have different names around the world. Among the Yoruba people it is called Ayò, Oware by the Akan, Wari in Mali and Warri in the Caribbean. In Barbados, the game is played with forty-eight seeds or marbles on a rectangular board which has twelve receptacles or ‘houses’ arranged in six pairs along the length of the board. At the start of the game, four seeds are placed in each house. The object of the game is to capture most of the forty-eight seeds. The winner of the game is the player who captures more than twenty-four seeds. If both players capture twenty-four seeds, the game is declared a draw. The champion of a tournament is the first player to win six games.
Typical warri board with marbles
According to W Lee Farum-Badley in, ‘Barbados Warri: the Bajan way’, legendary players such as Ben Ben would be seen in action every day, except Sundays, on the Round-the-Town road, east of Speightstown. Benjamin’s passion for the game led him to hold the title of warri champion of Barbados for 1999 and 2000. “Ben Ben has played warri since childhood,” Vincie said, “and was employed for some time by the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) to teach warri to young people in Barbados.” One of Benjamin’s fellow players and friends, Victor Griffith, popularly known as Everton Weekes, said, “Ben was a very attacking player – very focused, knew where every seed will drop - and you have to know where every seed will drop.”
His nephew, Vincie, also noted that his uncle was an acute observer of life. As well as being a champion warri player, Benjamin was known for being somewhat of a philosopher. “When he was in a tight spot - could see he might lose or draw a game,” Victor Griffith said, “Ben would usually say, ‘Everywhere Jesus went he didn’t carry all of his disciples, but he loved them all.’”
Thanks to people like Ben Ben, the game was kept alive in Barbados. Sadly, today, according to warri players such as Everton Weekes, playing of the game has declined on the island as has participation in championships. He said that although warri is still being played locally, mainly in St Peter, “There needs to be some action from the sports promoters in the NCF. The NCF should invite local warri players for a discussion on how to raise the game so that Barbadian players can compete, as they used to, at the national and international level.”
Addinton Ford, former Officer for Barbadian Folk Lore at the NCF and author of ‘Warri: the African board game as played in Barbados, Antigua/Barbuda’ said, “Warri is part of our culture which should be preserved. It is the mother of chess and backgammon and has been around for over 3000 years. It teaches children to reason, think and appreciate the relationship between action and consequences because a bad move in warri means losing. Children enjoy playing it and research in Switzerland showed it helps to improve children’s mathematical skills. Pity that we should allow it to die.”
The NCF of Barbados does not appear to have any existing programmes to support warri players. The game is, however, thriving in nearby Antigua where there is an active Warri Association and Trevor Simons is the international warri champion.
A champion warri player has been lost with the death of Benjamin White, but it is not too late for this ancient game, passed down from the African ancestors to be rejuvenated. Some positive action would allow Barbados to, once again, compete with other countries across the world who still fully appreciate warri.
His nephew, Vincie, also noted that his uncle was an acute observer of life. As well as being a champion warri player, Benjamin was known for being somewhat of a philosopher. “When he was in a tight spot - could see he might lose or draw a game,” Victor Griffith said, “Ben would usually say, ‘Everywhere Jesus went he didn’t carry all of his disciples, but he loved them all.’”
Thanks to people like Ben Ben, the game was kept alive in Barbados. Sadly, today, according to warri players such as Everton Weekes, playing of the game has declined on the island as has participation in championships. He said that although warri is still being played locally, mainly in St Peter, “There needs to be some action from the sports promoters in the NCF. The NCF should invite local warri players for a discussion on how to raise the game so that Barbadian players can compete, as they used to, at the national and international level.”
Addinton Ford, former Officer for Barbadian Folk Lore at the NCF and author of ‘Warri: the African board game as played in Barbados, Antigua/Barbuda’ said, “Warri is part of our culture which should be preserved. It is the mother of chess and backgammon and has been around for over 3000 years. It teaches children to reason, think and appreciate the relationship between action and consequences because a bad move in warri means losing. Children enjoy playing it and research in Switzerland showed it helps to improve children’s mathematical skills. Pity that we should allow it to die.”
The NCF of Barbados does not appear to have any existing programmes to support warri players. The game is, however, thriving in nearby Antigua where there is an active Warri Association and Trevor Simons is the international warri champion.
A champion warri player has been lost with the death of Benjamin White, but it is not too late for this ancient game, passed down from the African ancestors to be rejuvenated. Some positive action would allow Barbados to, once again, compete with other countries across the world who still fully appreciate warri.
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