Hi- Dayasara here. This Tuesday (June 2nd)  I’ll be at the Cambridge Centre, giving a 15 minute presentation on the “Caring for Others” theme of BAM. Then on Thursday (June 4th) the Ipswich Buddhist Centre launches its own BAM month and we’ll preview a range of events.

 At one end of the spectrum, BAM might help us along the road of getting some Buddhist care-based businesses. At the other, someone might keep a record of money saved through fewer visits to a coffee shop and donate, say, £10 to the Karuna Trust. And there’s plenty of ‘middle ground’ levels of involvement. One of these will be becoming a Dementia Friend through an initiative of the Alzheimer’s Society. I’ve done a day’s training to be a Dementia Friends’ Champion and this means I can offer a ONE HOUR information session after which all attenders become Dementia Friends, with a badge to prove it! The session is suitable for everyone….yes, even if you’ve worked in the field of dementia for years you’ll have more experience to bring to the session. It is based on 5 key messages, is very practical (e.g. how might I suppport a confused person ahead of me in the supermarket queue?) and the learning methods are well-thought out and fun.

   I’m doing sessions at the following Centres- Ipswich (Tuesday June 9th 2.15-3.15pm), Colchester (Saturday June 20th 3-4pm) and Cambridge (Tuesday June 23rd 2.15-3.15pm). And I’ll be booking more sessions well beyond June, and like many intiatives it will resonate long beyond BAM month. Those who do a Friends session and want to go further can do a Dementia Friends’ Champion session (available periodically in towns/cities throughout the country) and offer the one hour information sessions themselves….and Happy BAM-ing to all- With Metta Dayasara