The latest addition to Cape Town’s café scene is changing perceptions of dementia and offering those who experience the challenging symptoms a safe space.
The Memory Café is the name of this one-of-a-kind café in Hout Bay, and passionate Dementia Studies PhD candidate and local Rayne Troebel is the mastermind behind this positive space.
Troebel decided to create the Memory Café after years of working in retirement facilities through his home-care company Geratec.
The PhD candidate says that people do not suffer from dementia, they suffer from they way they are treated because they have symptoms of dementia. He is on a mission to make sure no more people get ostracised by society and in social spaces because of their condition.
“So many people living with dementia become increasingly lonely and helpless. They’re tucked away somewhere as if they have leprosy,” said Troebel on CapeTalk.
Since the Memory Café’s doors opened in March, two engagement sessions on the topic of dementia have been held, attended by people living with dementia and their caregivers.
The sessions aim to provide support while listening and sharing ideas on how to make public spaces more inclusive for all.
Troebel is determined to make more businesses more aware, as those living with this cognitive impairment are more than capable of living independent and full lives.
You can visit the Memory Café at Black & Brew, Valley Farm, Valley Road, Hout Bay.
Get more information from 021 461 3820 or [email protected] on when the next session will take place.
Picture: Pexels
