By MELISSA CUNNINGHAM
INDIAN residents in Dandenong who suffer from Parkinson’s disease will be able to get brochures scripted in Hindi on living with the debilitating condition.
The Spoken Word was launched by Parkinson’s Victoria last Saturday at the Indian Senior Citizens Association of Victoria in Mt Waverley.
The secretary of the Indian Senior Citizens Society, Kaushal Srivastava welcomed the initiative. “This will mean a lot to elderly Indian residents who are affected by Parkinson’s whose English may not be the best,” he said.
“Not only does it create awareness for those living with the condition in the area but it will also help people understand and seek effective treatment to continue living their lives.”
Neurologist and senior medical lecturer at Monash University Sanjay Raghav also applauded the move. Dr Raghav hosts educational seminars in Dandenong, Monash and the Mornington Peninsula on the condition.
“Most Indians living in Australia are bilingual,” he said. “But having something written in your own language allows the individual to understand the information they are taking in more readily. They may also pick up on information they may have missed if it was written in English.”
The information brochure was printed as part of Victoria’s Bridging the Gap Project, which aims to develop information for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
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