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Activity Centre
110, Ketawalamulla Lane, Colombo 10, Sri Lanka
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Helpline
About Us
LAF OVERVIEW
The Lanka Alzheimer’s Foundation (LAF), initially incorporated in 2001 as The Alzheimer’s & Related Disorders Foundation of Lanka, subsequently changed its name to Lanka Alzheimer’s Foundation on 12th October 2010. It is a community-based approved charity registered with the Ministry of Social Services. LAF is the first and to date the only organization dedicated to advocating and addressing the needs of those diagnosed with cognitive impairment and dementia in Sri Lanka. LAF became a member of the world body, Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) on 23rd October 2002. ADI, which represents over 100 member associations from countries around the world, supports its member associations including LAF by sharing knowledge and information about the latest developments in the field of dementia.
MISSION & OBJECTIVES
Mission : : To improve the quality of life of those with Alzheimer’s and related dementias and enhance the well-being of their families and carers.
- To raise awareness about the condition of dementia and Alzheimer’s among the wides national population and educate on risk reduction.
- To provide services to patients and caregivers on cognitive and memory assessment and care.
- To provide training and information exchange opportunities.
- To collaborate and forge partnerships with support organisations and academia.
Objectives :
FOUNDERS & HISTORY
The journey of LAF began in September 1999 when Lorraine Yu and Tami Tamitegama made a commitment at the 2nd Alzheimer’s Disease International Asia Pacific regional meeting held in Singapore to set up an Alzheimer’s Association in Sri Lanka.
Initially, LAF had no office of its own and operated from the family home of the Founders for the first 10 years. In the early years, Lorraine Yu, Co-Founder of the Organisation strived hard to create awareness about a disease, little heard or understood in Sri Lanka and to raise funds to take their initiative forward.
With a vision to set up an Information and Service Center, Lorraine Yu and Tami Tamitegama decided to meet all expenses of the Foundation until the Centre was set up, from their personal funds. When their commitment finally ceased in 2011 with the opening of the state of the art Service and Information Centre, they had spent nearly 6 million rupees towards the cause.
In the early years, together with Priya Fernando, Lorraine visited homes of people with dementia and also the psychiatric wards of the Colombo South Hospital, Kalubowila and the National Institute for Mental Health. They regularly met with persons living with dementia and their families, to create awareness about the disease and to give practical guidance on care. Caregiver Support Groups met once a month in her home to counsel family caregivers on supporting their loved ones with dementia and on handling behavioural and mood changes. A news sheet was also born to create greater awareness among these carers. This grew to become the Quarterly newsletter of LAF.
In 2011, the Service and Information Center of LAF was declared open at its current venue in Maradana, Colombo 10. The original furniture was borrowed or second hand while some were outright donations from grateful families. The Activity Centre and Memory screening were added to the growing list of services soon after.
LAF harnessed volunteerism to a great extent and strived to keep administration costs to a minimum. Even though Lorraine worked full time, she herself never drew any emoluments or stipend. Financial integrity and the culture of saving that she inculcated is still alive at LAF with many of its activities run by dedicated regular volunteers.
Today, LAF is known, recognized and respected for the services it provides. It has come a long way from the humble beginnings thanks to the vision of the Founders, ably supported by friends and volunteers.
LORRAINE YU
Co - FounderTAMI TAMITEGAMA
Co-Founder
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Prof. Shehan Williams
President
Lakmali Cabral
Secretary
Lilani Jayasuriya
Treasurer
Beverley Mirando
Director
Priya Fernando
Director
Romany Parakrama
Director
Nimal Gunewardena
DirectorCustodians: Mrs. Manjula Matthews, Dr. Romesh Dias Bandaranaike and Mr. Shewantha Rodrigo, also serve on a voluntary basis to advise on managing LAF’s finances/investments.
INTERNATIONAL AFFILIATION
Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) is the international federation of Alzheimer and dementia associations around the world; in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO), of which LAF is a member. ADI’s vision is risk reduction, timely diagnosis, care and inclusion today, and cure tomorrow.
ADI believes that tackling dementia requires efforts at global, regional and local levels. They work by empowering Alzheimer and dementia associations to advocate for dementia as a national priority, to raise awareness and to offer care and support for people with dementia and their care partners. Globally, ADI strives to focus attention on dementia, maintain it as a global health priority, campaign for better policy from governments and encourage investment and innovation in dementia research.
ADI was established in 1984 by an initiative of the Alzheimer associations in the USA, UK, Australia and Canada. ADI has over 100 members, generally one in each country. Each member is a not-for-profit organisation that focuses on supporting people living with dementia, their carers and families.
ADI is a not-for-profit organisation registered in the USA. Its main office is in London, UK, with an Asia Pacific regional office located in Jakarta, Indonesia and an Americas regional office located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ADI has a growing team, and an Elected Board made up of volunteers from around the world.
LAF benefits from ADI’s sharing of knowledge and information about the latest developments in the field of dementia. In ADI’s World Alzheimer Report 2024, “ Global changes in attitudes to dementia” the results from a Global Survey commissioned in 2019, showed that stigma impacts the everyday lives of people with dementia in complex and harmful ways; a survey commissioned five years later, arrived at the same conclusion with the focus shifting to how Associations could address the harms associated with dementia related sigma. Going forward the focus is on the impact stigma can have on people with dementia & people close to them.
The benefits of sharing the latest knowledge and information on dementia provided by Alzheimer’s International (ADI) for the Alzheimer’s Foundation of Sri Lanka are immense. The World Alzheimer’s Report “Changes in Global Views on Dementia” released by ADI in 2024, summarised the findings of a global survey conducted in 2019, which found that the daily lives of people with dementia are becoming increasingly complex and disruptive. A survey conducted five years later confirmed this prediction, focusing on whether the underlying causes of depression can be addressed. Over time, depression itself affects people with dementia and those close to them.
COLLABORATIONS
University of Kelaniya
Kelaniya University - Final year medical students of the University of Kelaniya
1. Programme to Sensitize Final Year Medical Students on Non-Pharmacological Approaches to Dementia
LAF conducts a specialized programme to expose final year medical students to persons living
with dementia and the therapeutic programmes conducted by the team. This highlights the
limited role of medication and the value of stimulation-based interventions. Students gain a
holistic understanding, seeing individuals beyond their diagnosis. The programme also
promotes awareness of LAF’s other services.<br> This programme was also offered to medical students from Kotelawala Defence University until the pandemic.
2. Practical Training for Speech Therapy Students
Originally developed for final year Speech Therapy students, this training allowed them to
carry out theory-based activities for clients at the Activity Centre. Their work was
supervised and graded for final exams. Clients received assessments and progress reports.<br>
Since 2004, 2nd year students have also been visiting LAF for sensitization, observing and
occasionally participating in the Centre’s operations.
College of Community Physicians
LAF signs partnership agreement with the College of Community Physicians
Collaboration with College of Community Physicians; its President speaks at LAF media conference.
A partnership agreement was signed between the College of Community Physicians Sri Lanka (CCPSL) and the Lanka Alzheimer’s Foundation (LAF) is pleased towards furthering the cause of Dementia island wide. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was entered into on 1st July 2024 for a period of one year to collaboratively work on creating greater awareness on dementia and engage in health promotion activities that will help mitigate the impact of dementia. The College of Community Physicians is the apex professional body of public health specialists in Sri Lanka. The CCPSL, among its many objectives, works to improve the health of the Sri Lankan population through the provision of high quality care and the promotion of public health initiatives. The partnership will target specific groups including community health and social services officers in improving their awareness of dementia and supporting persons with dementia and their families in the community.
Ninewells Hospital Nurses Programme
Sensitization and hands-on experience for nursing students and paid caregivers.
This programme provides guidance, observation and hands-on experience to nursing students and paid caregivers at the Activity Center. In 2025, 29 student nurses from the Ninewells hospital availed themselves of this programme over a period of 5 days. In previous years, The nursing school of the Durdans hospital and the English Nursing Company was given this opportunity too. This programme is conducted only on request as the well- being of clients is of utmost importance to LAF.