South Asian Heritage Month is now well underway, taking place between July 18th and August 17th, with the aim being to celebrate the heritage of people from wonderful places like Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives.
The inaugural awareness month started back in 2020, commemorating, marking and celebrating South Asian cultures, histories and communities, as well as understanding the diverse heritage and cultures that link the UK and Asia.
Here at Concept Care, we ensure that our home care services are person-centric and entirely individual, tailored to suit everyone’s values, traditions and way of life. Our culturally- attuned Asian home care provision ensures that people from different Asian backgrounds receive compassionate support, while honouring cultural identities.
Here’s how care can be personalised to ensure that languages, customs, diets and prayer routines suit everyone, regardless of their background and community.
Diwali
Many of the clients we provide care for – and many of our carers, as well – celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali. This is such a wonderful time of year, bringing together culture and religion, and we fully understand how important it is to help people preserve a sense of their identity.
We encourage everyone to celebrate different religious events and we aim to ensure that our clients’ wishes are followed to the letter on this special occasion, wearing traditional clothing, singing songs, using home altars and eating delicious home-cooked meals.
Our service provision is tailored to suit the level of care required. For example, people with dementia are often confused by Diwali celebrations, which can include fireworks, loud music and so on. Where appropriate, we celebrate ahead of Diwali season, sharing images, videos and going to local events.
Ramadan
Fasting is an important aspect of Ramadan and it’s important that care providers are able to observe the holy month while still being able to fulfil their responsibilities in a healthy way.
Tips to ensure this include setting aside time for self-care, getting up 30 minutes earlier to eat sahur, plan your meals in advance to ensure you can break your fast on time, choosing nutritious food for greater sustenance throughout the day and staying well hydrated during meals to provide the energy you need to care for others.
For those receiving care who are perhaps unable to observe the holy month, we help to ensure that they can participate in relevant social interactions and stay active so that they too can be involved.
Halal/vegetarian food
There’s no need to worry that dietary preferences aren’t catered for and our Asian home care services include bespoke meal plans that include both Halal and vegetarian food… so don’t be afraid to ask for whatever it is you need.
Gender-specific care preferences
We strive to ensure that all gender-specific care preferences of our clients are supported, including providing female caregivers for women and male caregivers for men, as well as ensuring that family support and involvement is featured in care plans.
Our approach is always culturally sensitive and we always adopt a family-centred strategy to improve communication and trust, while supporting positive health outcomes and providing a high standard of care, no matter what.
