Monday, May 12, 2008

International ME/CFS Awareness Day 2008

Blogging for ME/CFS Awareness 2008



Denise Vella


M.E Awareness 2008 in Malta


This year one of the youngest M.E sufferers and members of our email support group, Denise Vella, will be taking care of raising and creating awareness about M.E in Malta.

The last 3 years have been difficult for Denise because she did not accept her condition fully. As a result her relationships with friends and teachers were strained due to the fact that she did not explain what she was feeling and her friends thought they were being rude if they asked.

So as this year she is attending a new school (Sixth Form), she has decided to start afresh. On her first day at school she spoke out about her different needs, what she could manage to do and what she couldn't. She was surprised by the students' and teachers' response.

Taking heart, she decided to do the Systems of Knowledge* project (a very important academic project) about pushing for ME Awareness. This entails a lot of energy and work on her part as you can imagine. Financial support was difficult to find however a generous anonymous sponsor has answered Denise' plea and offered to help.

Mr Brian Grech, the photographer chosen for both the poster and the leaflet came up with the idea of using Denise for the poster. Her parents are presently distributing Awareness posters and leaflets in hospitals, clinics, schools and where ever will make a difference to our cause.

ME Sufferers Malta


* Systems of Knowledge is taken at post-secondary level of education (16-18 year-olds) and covers a wide area of Knowledge (interdisciplinary). It also includes a project - the topic of which must be dealt with in an analytic, descriptive and reflective manner. Unless students pass this exam/assessment at the end of sixth form, they will not be able to enter the University of Malta.

Many thanks to Rebecca of ME Sufferers Malta for this information about Systems of Knowledge in Malta.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great poster it is! Really struck a chord with me as a sufferer.

Thanks for this post. Great to hear about her hard work to raise awareness and that shared difficulty so many of us have with accepting our limitations and also in telling others.

Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I like the slogan on your insert picture. "I suffer from your inability to see my disability."

I hope you don't mind me adding your blog to my ME/CFS Awareness page.

Rachel M

seahorse said...

Like it too. Sad I couldn't post and am only just getting to reading around today. But it's great to see good posts out there and the poster says it all

Reading the Signs said...

Dear Maggie, Thanks for your comments over at mine. I've been in Germany. Will go now and have a look at the link you put up here.

seahorse said...

Dearest Maggie hoping you are ok and missing you in blogland