Watch: Parkinson’s Sufferer Sails Through Next Round Of New Maltese Social Impact Show With Day Care Centre Pitch
Malta got its first taste of the new social impact award TV show Changemakers last night and it all kicked off with a Parkinson’s sufferer and activist winning the support of all five judges.
Adrian Casha, project manager of the NGO Step Up for Parkinson’s, started his pitch with a personal recollection of the shock he felt when he was diagnosed with the condition aged only 50 years old.
“For the first three years, I couldn’t accept the diagnosis as I had always led an active life, particularly in sports,” he said. “However, the time came when I realised I needed to do something to help myself and I found out how many people suffer from Parkinson’s in Malta.”
“I felt that there wasn’t enough awareness on the condition and I got to know of this NGO which provides social help and dance therapy to Parkinson’s sufferers and their families.”
Casha and the NGO are seeking funding for a new Parkinson’s daycare centre in Kirkop that will offer free dance therapy and creative movement classes as well as specialised physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy.
“Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition and we must work immediately to improve their quality of life and that of their families,” he said.
“At the moment, 1,700 people are entitled to free Parkinson’s medication in Malta which indicates that the real figure is over 2,000, because some have probably been misdiagnosed, not diagnosed at all or have completely lost heart and don’t even want to take their medication.”
All five judges – Alexander Fenech, Jesper Svensson, Kirsy Kullmann, Marta Starzyk, and Mark Weingard – praised Casha for his work, with Kullmann in particular stating she has firsthand experience with Parkinson’s as her grandfather had been diagnosed with the same condition.
He therefore qualified to the next stage, where he will be paired with a mentor to strengthen the initiative in the hope that he can make it to the final, where investment of up to €100,000 is on offer.
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