A youth football coach has helped spread awareness and understanding of dementia to over 2000 people.
Emdad Rahman, 40, from Cannon Street Road, Shadwell, has reached a landmark 2000 ‘Dementia Friends’ for the charity of the same name.
As a Dementia Friends Champion, Emdad gives talks to his community to encourage people to help dementia sufferers and spread the word about the condition.
Emdad became a Dementia Friend in 2015 after attending the same workshop he now delivers.
He became aware of the programme after he attended a training session at Lords Cricket Ground to become a volunteer steward.
Since becoming a champion he has given talks to youth clubs, church groups and mosques, to name but a few.
He is proud to have trained Tower Hamlets mayor John Biggs and Battle of Cable Street veteran, 104 year old Max Levitas – the oldest Dementia Friend in the world.
“I simply love my role and fit it around my spare time. Whether it’s two or two million I’m just happy I’m helping make a difference,” said Emdad.
When he is not involved with the charity, Emdad can be found volunteering at a nearby soup kitchen and coaching the Stepney FC Under-12s.
The Dementia Friends programme, spearheaded by the Alzheimer’s Society, is the biggest ever initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia.
It aims to transform the way the nation thinks, acts and talks about the condition.
To learn more about Dementia Friends, visit dementiafriends.org.uk.
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