When my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s – a form of dementia - my mother became her primary carer. We saw every step of her decline over the next 3 years.

It was clear to me that there is a big void in the help available to elderly South Asian people and their carers. There were day services, but my grandmother couldn't understand or be understood by anyone there. There were care workers, but they couldn’t communicate with her either. Imagine an isolated, scared and confused person being placed in an unknown, noisy world, amidst a culture that is not her own... they may begin to feel even lonelier.

And we know it. The stats tell us that elderly people from minority groups are more socially isolated than their white counterparts.

Neither myself nor my wider family knew enough about dementia. The sad truth is that, had we known more about what to expect after diagnosis and the support that's out there, life could have been better for all of us.

People shouldn't have to feel so lonely. Information should be available and accessible to everyone. I started Sahara to fill the gap in support provision for older South Asian people and their carers.

Nobody should have to do it alone.

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- Paramjot Kaur