During World Alzheimer’s Month, dementia researcher Golnaz Atefi rollerbladed 200km from Maastricht to Witten, to raise funds for the Adoption Project at Alzheimer Centrum Limburg, where she is a PhD student. The project organises for pupils from primary schools to visit people with dementia on a regular basis, interacting with them and doing activities together. Golnaz is also an EU funded Marie Curie Fellow in the DISTINCT training network which supports fifteen Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) across Europe, who are carrying out research projects aiming to improve the lives of people with dementia and their carers, through technology: https://www.dementiadistinct.com/
On 8 September, Golnaz, who originates from Iran, embarked on her 5-day, 200km rollerblading journey, following three months of intensive training. She has a very personal reason for undertaking this challenge and for choosing dementia research as a career: "You’ve had a great childhood if you had a chance to be around your grandparents. With their pure love, they have a glorious, magical way of making you believe you really are something special. My grandpa had dementia and my grandma was a dedicated caregiver, yet they remained the most supportive grandparents that anyone could ask for. As a kid, I was the happiest when I had my skates on and my grandparents beside me." “When I grew older, watching my grandpa dealing with dementia, caregiving responsibilities for the family, social and emotional issues around it, all led me to create greater understanding of the disease. It eventually shaped my future career as a researcher in the field of dementia.”
View a video about her fundraising challenge, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VeLvjNXimQ
Visit the fundraising website, here: https://www.actiealzheimeronderzoekfonds.nl/project/skaten-voor-dementie
