SINT MAARTEN (ST. JOHN’S) - The White & Yellow Cross Care Foundation (WYCCF) and the Henry Ostiana Foundation (HOF) look back on a successful week of activities focused on dementia awareness, education, and support for people living with dementia, their families, caregivers, and the wider community.
The week began with specialized workshops for healthcare professionals, focusing on person-centered communication and dementia care. Both sessions were very well received, with full classrooms and highly positive feedback from participating professionals.
Informal caregivers also had the opportunity to attend two free evening workshops on communicating with confidence, understanding challenging behaviors, and responding calmly and compassionately to someone living with dementia. The Monday session welcomed 12 participants, while 14 attended on Wednesday. Participants described the workshops as valuable, informative, and highly relevant to their daily experiences as caregivers.
On Thursday evening, WYCCF hosted “Memories in Melodies – Karaoke Evening” at the brand-new WYCCF Daycare PG and training facility. The evening brought together members of the community, representatives of WYCCF’s Alzheimer’s Support Group, and several special guests, including Governor Mr. Baly, the Prime Minister, the Secretary General of the Ministry of VSA, representatives of SZV and APS. The evening combined information and awareness with plenty of music and laughter and continued well into the evening as participants enjoyed the karaoke.
The highlight of the week, however, was the Dementia Awareness Walkathon on Saturday morning. With all tickets sold, more than 100 people gathered at 5:30 AM to show their support for dementia awareness. The trolley train, sponsored by We Tours, was a great success and gave participants who needed a break or couldn't complete the full route on foot the chance to rest along the way.
Participants also enjoyed the walk itself, which included two water stops along the route, followed by a healthy breakfast generously donated by Maureen from Captain’s Rib Shack. The breakfast was very well received and provided a welcome finish to the morning.
After breakfast, community members also had the opportunity to take part in a free dementia screening, and many people took advantage of it. The screening is part of WYCCF’s efforts to promote awareness and encourage early identification of possible changes in memory and thinking.
Vaitaire Overman, one of the Case Managers Dementia: ‘’I am excited to see that persons are reaching out and daring to have conversations about dementia. The more we support each other, the lighter the load is for everyone involved. In other words, better for all the people of Sint Maarten.‘’
Dementia remains an important and often under-recognized issue on Sint Maarten. It can affect anyone, either directly or through a family member or someone close to them. Raising awareness, supporting caregivers, and encouraging early attention to changes in memory and thinking are therefore an important part of WYCCF’s ongoing work.
WYCCF organizes these activities in collaboration with the Henry Ostiana Foundation (HOF), with Mrs. Mireya Ostiana as a driving force behind the continued focus on dementia awareness on the island. Together, WYCCF and HOF remain committed to supporting people living with dementia, their families and caregivers, and continuing to build awareness on Sint Maarten.
Following the strong response to this year’s activities, particularly the Dementia Awareness Walkathon, WYCCF looks forward to building on this year’s momentum and making next year’s awareness activities even bigger.
The WYCCF and HOF would like to thank all attendees, the organizing team, and all the volunteers for making this week a big success. But also our sponsors who, through their generous donations, made this week possible: WE Tours, Maureen from Captain’s Rib Shack. APS, and Mrs. Linda Bergsma.
