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Art
group exhibition
Zimbabwe
Alzheimers and Related Diseases Association (ZARDA)
May 30, 2009
The smiling faces at
the ZARDA Art Group exhibition this month were a clear reflection
of the joy this new activity has given to both members of the group
and their carers, families and friends.
The group is the brainchild
of Sue Cox, who is studying for a diploma in dementia, and whose
own late husband died of Alzheimers. It is a well-known fact that
activities such as art, craft, gardening, etc help to both stimulate
the brain and keep it active, and are also therapeutic - especially
for people suffering from various forms of dementia.
Sue did a few projects
with ZARDA member Jim Dickey, who started painting again with her
encouragement. She started looking for a venue to start up an art
group for ZARDA, when Ann and Roger Hamilton King joined the association
early this year. Ann jumped at the idea, and helped get the group
started at Heritage School with the kind assistance and tutoring
of Janet Ashton (?) This is where some of us put our first nervous
splashes of paint on paper, sometimes after more than 50 years without
touching a paintbrush! After a few weeks, the group moved a bit
further down the road to her own home, which has easier access for
those in wheelchairs and with walking frames, and this is where
we now meet every Sunday morning.
Members certainly look
forward to their weekly outing to Borrowdale Country Manor! Sue
and Trudy collect some members from Nazareth House, and others join
us independently. The ride there and back is very much part of the
activity, as we admire the flowering trees, gardens and landscape
along the way. It is a special pleasure for those in Nazareth House,
who don't have much chance to get out. The walk across the
lawn to the beautiful verandah is excellent exercise, especially
for those with walking frames, who have become quite sprightly after
a couple of months of this!
Once settled, everyone
gets down to work - and this work was so exciting that the
association decided to display it at the AGM for others to enjoy.
It is very common for a newcomer to say "No, I don't
want to paint, I'll just sit and watch" because they
are shy or worried that they will make a mess. But since absolutely
everyone has some talent and appreciation of colour, and with a
bit of encouragement they soon find that they absolutely love making
pictures! We all enjoy tea and cakes on the verandah afterwards,
and have great fun chatting and laughing together before trekking
home again.
Here are some
of the pictures we have made in just a few months this year.
* Alzheimers
Disease is a form of dementia. Most people with dementia are elderly,
but it is important to remember that it is not a normal part of
aging. There is no set pattern, and it affects all races and all
genders. It is more common after the age of 65, and people over
the age of 85 have a one in three chance of getting the disease.
Visit the Alzheimer's
Society - Harare fact
sheet
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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