The second edition of SICK Pride is set to take place this weekend, bringing together mense with draining chronic illnesses for an afternoon of fun in the sun, as they celebrate their tenacity and resilience.
The first SICK Pride event took place last year, with SICK 2024 aimed at making ‘invisible illness’ visible.
The theme for this year’s event is ‘Persistence is Resistance’ and anyone affected by energy-limiting chronic illness have been invited to attend.
SICK Pride 2024 will take place from 2-4pm on Sunday, November 17th, at Ardene Gardens, located at 222 Main Road, Claremont.
The event is organised by SICK (the Society for the Inclusion of Chronic Knowledge), supported by MELCuSA (ME and Long Covid Unite South Africa) and endorsed by the World ME Alliance.
South African representative to the World ME Alliance, Sam Pearce, said while the event was open to everyone with an energy-limiting illness, there was a particular focus on persons with Long COVID and Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
“Global numbers of people suffering with Long COVID have skyrocketed from 65 million in 2023 to 400 million in 2024 - that’s 10x the number of people with HIV. Half of those with Long COVID will go on to develop full blown ME, and a quarter of people with ME are bedbound like me. The pandemic of mass death may have subsided, but the pandemic of mass disability continues,” Pearce said.
Pearce said Long COVID, like ME, is a vascular disease where blood cells are starved of oxygen, affecting their capacity to produce energy.
“This is preventing people from being able to work, study or parent. The scale and severity of energy-limiting conditions have been sorely underestimated until now.”
Those attending have been encouraged to bring along picnic baskets and anything that has sustained them through their years of illness such as a song, poem, or an artwork to share with the rest of the attendees.
“We are going to lie down on sun-dappled lawns in the beautiful surrounds of Arderne Gardens and be unashamedly SICK in public, together! We will be blessed with song medicine from Gospel and Afro-soul singer Nosie Dyantyi-Mwanda. Dr Massimo Nunes from Stellenbosch University will be speaking about his ground-breaking research on micro-clotting in LC and ME, and there will be a sharing circle where participants will exchange stories of brave endurance.”
For more information on the event, contact Gabela 078 937 9393 or email Sam Pearce samfleurpearce@gmail.com.
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za