"Don't forget mine"

Children and senior citizens made crafts for dementia ball

The children from the Villach St. Martin all-day school made decorations together with ladies from the Volkshilfe senior citizens' home(Bild: Uta Rojsek-Wiedergut)

The city of Villach is taking targeted action to raise awareness of dementia. For the first time, a special dementia ball is being organized with Volkshilfe. In the run-up to the ball, senior citizens did handicrafts with schoolchildren.

Senior citizens from the Volkshilfe home met with girls and boys at the all-day school in St. Martin: Under the guidance of the two leisure educators Ursula Lassnig and Sarah Parth, a wide variety of decorations were made on the theme of "forget-me-nots". "We didn't want to miss out on the fun and enjoyment, so in between there was a fairy tale about the origin of the name forget-me-not," says head of the home Martina Stefan-Guggenberger.

After the work was done, the helpers, young and old, were given refreshments and a fairy tale.(Bild: Uta Rojsek-Wiedergut)

The Dementia Ball itself is taking place in Villach for the first time this year. In the Bambergsaal of the former Parkhotel, caring relatives, caregivers and people suffering from dementia are invited. In this special setting, everyone can be who they are! The ball will take place on May 24, when the lovingly crafted decorations can be admired. 

Principal Ulrike Fugger opened her school rooms to the unusual handicraft community(Bild: Uta Rojsek-Wiedergut)

The touching documentary "Forget me not", which is well worth seeing, was shown at the Stadtkino on May 23. It shows the love between mother and son, parents and children, husband and wife and how Alzheimer's dementia can shake and change families. Admission to the movie is free, but advance registration is required.