This September, as co-founders of the Scope Medical Outreach Programmes (aka Beyond the Scope Medics), we are bringing Alzheimer’s awareness to Epsom College Malaysia in conjunction with World Alzheimer’s Month.
Scope was founded with a simple belief: medical knowledge should not be limited to hospitals or healthcare professionals. We hope to make health education more accessible, while encouraging young people to understand, discuss and take action on important health issues. Our Alzheimer’s Awareness Project was inspired by the growing impact of dementia on individuals, families and communities, and by our desire to turn awareness into meaningful action.
Alzheimer’s is a condition that most of us have heard of, but only to the extent that it affects a person’s memory. Therefore, our main purpose was to educate students about its symptoms and detrimental effects, reduce the stigma surrounding it, spread awareness about the services required for those with Alzheimer’s, and raise funds for organisations researching and providing support to people with this condition. We hope that, through our initiative, our fellow students gain insightful knowledge and become more mindful as they develop into global citizens.
Our events will take place over two weeks, from 14 to 25 September, including Alzheimer’s awareness and fundraising activities. Our assemblies for KS3/Year 6 and KS4/KS5 will be conducted on 14 and 15 September respectively, teaching students about Alzheimer’s and the importance of early detection. The week of 21 September will feature a fundraising bake sale to raise money for two major Alzheimer’s associations, the Alzheimer’s Disease Foundation Malaysia and Alzheimer’s Society UK, as well as the Shwe Than Lwin Elderly Home in Yangon. On 24 September, students will take part in a Wellness activity involving the making of purple ribbons, followed by a Memory Wall on 25 September, featuring tutor groups wearing their purple ribbons.
This initiative and our medical outreach organisation started with an idea between two teenagers over lunch and has blossomed into physical initiatives and now a fundraiser. As young people, we often underestimate our capabilities, but we hope one of the takeaways from our project is that we can make an impact and give back to the community, as long as we put our minds to it. There are so many more ideas we would like to carry out; this is just the beginning.
Sweetie L. and Helen Z.
Year 13 students