On the 24th November, the Dominica Dementia Foundation and the Dominica Psychological Society held its first walk n Lime event.
“We had a great turnout, with over 50 participants joining the walk from the Bayfront to the Botanic Gardens, where more people joined us. Some key persons who participated in the event include Miss Dominica 2024 Kyanna Dyer, our Lady of Song Ophelia Marie, President of the Dominica Cancer Society Yvonne Alexander, and many more.
We listened to vocal accompaniment by Vibrants, a local community of strong women including our very own Ophelia Marie who also blessed us with her vocals. The Vibrants renditioned a beautiful song – “Trust in the Lord” recently composed by Iris André specifically for this occasion. We also listened to a beautiful poem titled “Your Scars, Your Stars” written by Mariana Jno Baptiste (featured below). Many of us shared our experiences and knowledge about dementia. Nurse Laurent-Blaize provided valuable information about dementia and including key characteristics. The president of the Dominica Dementia Foundation, Veronne Nicholas also expressed some of the contributing factors to dementia, and the importance of early recognition of changes in our mental health and capacities as part of self-care.
Dorothy Henderson, along with Marianna Jno Baptiste and Iris Andre, each received a gift voucher courtesy of Jolly’s Pharmacy.
It was also our pleasure to pay tribute to Giselle Michineau who was recently murdered in a horrific manner. She displayed signs and symptoms of dementia and her family understood the importance of allowing her to keep to her routine. The family and the communities of the north had a support mechanism which they used to keep track of her. Thanks to the generosity of Bullseye Pharmacy and the Dominica Dementia Foundation a financial contribution of $750.00 was presented to her family for funeral services.
This event proved to be very meaningful and further fostered community support and awareness about dementia.
Special thank you to all sponsors and volunteers who helped behind the scenes: DASPA, Petro Caribe Dominica, Arden Sounds, Rueben’s Bakery, Bullseye Pharmacy, Josephine Gabriel & Co Ltd, Jolly’s Pharmacy, Triage Health, Dominica State College, Forestry Division, Dominica Cricket Association and the Dominica Red Cross Society. We would also like to shout out DSC student interns, Davidson John, Richie Ferrol and Julie Roberts, Belleau Shots for all their hard work behind the scenes. Thank you to the executives of both the DPS and DDF for hitting the ground running and working tirelessly to achieve this goal. Your dedication and efforts are truly appreciated.
Many thanks to Emo News who covered the live stream which can be found on Emo News and the Dominica Dementia Foundation Facebook page.
The aim is to make this an annual event and propose that our next Walk and Lime event will be on 21 September 2025 to coincide with World Alzheimer’s Day.
