
The “Meet, Greet and Have Fun” event was a playful and cheerful “Face to Face Meeting” of MS members held on 27th July 2024 at 3.30 PM in the Bosch Lunch Room. The meeting was attended by over 100 MS persons & their caregivers. Mrs.Ann Gonsalvez, the Honourable Secretary of the MSSI Chennai Chapter presented slides through a PowerPoint presentation about “World MS Day 2024,” giving a clear explanation of the series of events and sharing her experiences from the celebrations in May.
This was to let MS members who did not attend the various functions over the month of May/June 2024 know how “World MS Day” was observed by the Chapter.
Series of Events happened in the month of May 2024 are as follows:
- Talk by Dr.T.C.R.Ramakrishnan at JK Hotel, Coimbatore on 12th May 2024 about the advancement in drugs & medicine availability for MS.
- Meeting at Indian Medical Association, Coimbatore on 12th May 2024 in an effort to celebrate the Mothers’ day & Nurses’ Day & World MS Day – creating awareness of MS.
- Beyond Boundaries (MSSI & IIT Collaboration event to find the cause of MS) at IIT Madras on 18th May 2024
- Calcutta I’m Sorry (Movie release on a MS Person traveling from Nilgiris to Kolkata on a Bicycle) on 25th May 2024
- Two-day Skit programme at Chennai Airport on 28th & 30th May 2024 to create awareness among the public.
- Orange lit-up in 12 Collectorates around Tamil Nadu & Chennai Airport
- FM programme in 3 radio stations – Hello FM, Chennai Live and All India Radio
- Awareness programme at NIEPMD on 7th June 2024 to the students of Physiotherapy
The Secretary highlighted the struggles and difficulties faced by MS persons with insurance companies. She stressed the importance of the “Insure My MS” project started by MSSI and encouraged everyone to fill out the form sent to all members, emphasizing that every count matters, as only numbers can increase our bargaining power.
A memorable moment of the event was when Mr.Naman Sareen, an MS person, narrated his poem “I have MS,” which was beautifully read aloud to the audience, earning him much appreciation.
The fun continued with a “Bingo” game, hosted by Mrs.Archana Ganesan and Mr.Sivakumar, both MSSI Committee members. The meeting concluded with a delightful High Tea.