Thank you from Tara.
To: The HOPE Foundation and the Donors
Kia ora,
My name is Tara Sani and I am one of the recipients of the HOPE Foundation Research on Ageing Scholarship this year. I am very happy and truly honoured to learn that I have been selected to receive this scholarship for the second year.
I want to personally thank you for your generosity in making this scholarship possible. I am truly honoured to receive this scholarship, which will help me in paying my tuition and travel to conferences to present my research.
I am about to start my third year as a PhD student in the Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland. I am now working on a project called Empowering dementia carers with an iSupport Virtual Assistant (e-DIVA), which aims to develop a website to support carers of people living with dementia in New Zealand based on the WHO iSupport self-paced training manual. Prior to starting this PhD, I worked in dementia research and advocacy as well as practicing as a general practitioner in my home country, Indonesia.
I decided to pursue a PhD in New Zealand, because I want to learn and experience how to do research that benefits communities by honouring their cultures.
Moving to another country by myself to pursue a PhD is not an easy decision, but with determination and support from people around me, I managed to proceed up to this point. I aim to complete my study by next year.
After graduating, I hope to be able to work in an international or national organisation supporting ageing and long-term care research, such as the WHO, Alzheimer’s Disease International, Age International, or Alzheimer's New Zealand. Thanks to you, I am one step closer to that goal.
The tuition fee and cost of living in New Zealand had been one of my biggest concerns. However, this scholarship has relieved some of my financial burden, allowing me to continue my PhD for another year and access training and networking opportunities otherwise not covered in the project grant. It has inspired me to continue to persevere in my studies and work to make a difference for people with dementia.
Thank you again for your thoughtful and generous support.
Sincerely,
Tara Puspitarini Sani
You can also help by
- Spreading the word about what we do / share this newsletter
- Donating your time to the Friends Supporters to help with fundraising and committee work
- Encouraging your children and grandchildren to invest in their futures by donating time and money (a baby girl born today has a 1 in 3 chance of living to 100 , a boy 1 in 4 and is likely to be fitter and healthier–think about the implications of that)
- Consider a bequest