On Friday, April 15, 2022, a one-day training of volunteers and informal caregivers engaged in the project “Addressing and preventing care needs through innovative community care Centres (I-CCC)” was held in the premises of the Red Cross of Pirot.

Volunteers had the opportunity to learn basic information about people with dementia, because knowledge about this disorder helps us better understand the situation, the circumstances in which older persons diagnosed with dementia and their families live.

Every person diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or related disorder deserves:

• To be informed of the diagnosis
• To receive appropriate, continuous medical care
• To be productive in work and recreation for as long as possible
• To be treated as an adult, not as a child
• That their emotions, when expressed, are taken seriously
• To receive adequate therapy
• To live in a safe, structured and predictable environment
• To be able to fill each day with meaningful activities
• To spend time regularly outdoors
• To have physical contact, including hugs and handshakes
• To be in the company of people who know her or his life story, including her or his cultural and religious traditions
• To be cared for by persons well-trained for the care of dementia patients.

A very important part of the training was the way of communicating with people diagnosed with dementia, but also the part related to the activities of volunteers and their obligations in the project. Volunteering is important for the community, but also for improving the health of volunteers.

The training was held by Natasa Todorovic, expert of the Red Cross of Serbia. This education is activity in the project implemented by the Red Cross of Serbia with the support of the European Union, the Austrian Development Agency and the Austrian Red Cross.