In fact, WMSD is still going on in Russia. We have acquired a good tradition to start the MS event on the last Wednesday in May with WMSD, and the All-Russian MS Day on 11 June will see the end of MS functions during this special period of the year when we highlight MS issues together with the globe.

It is with great pleasure that I can say again that WMSD was marked in Russia with enthusiasm. Quite a few events were successfully conducted across the country. They all aimed at raising MS awareness on the one hand and supporting the WMSD campaign of this year on the other. Thus, like in previous years, we do not speak about a single event for the nation but rather an array of various activities that took place simultaneously.

Moscow

The Moscow MS society conducted a special event with eminent speakers on current ways of rehabilitation, treatments for MS, psychological MS issues. The audience agreed that Russian PwMS have good reasons to mark WMSD’s since, firstly, it is a powerful global initiative, and, secondly, we can again bring to light achievements ensuring a better quality of life of people with MS in Russia.

The participants were also invited to put forward their mottos that help them overcome challenges of the disease. So, society Director Natalia Zryacheva believes that ‘We shall win if we fight the disease together, and we shall lose if the disease is together with us’. Alexander Popov and his wife Irina’s motto is ‘One must start his personal growth with altering himself’. One of the invited speakers, Dr David thinks that ‘No matter that you can fall anywhere; more important that you can stand up and go on’.

Krasnodar

Another big event took place in Krasnodar. PwMS travelled by bus to a mountainous area to enjoy a never-to-be-forgotten outing with mountain air and BBQ in the end. The participants were also encouraged to suggest their mottos well before the outing, and PwMS happily shared them during the party:

Movement brings life.

Bygones are bygones. Value what you still have.

Whatsoever happens to you, be thankful for it could have been even worse.

You HANDLE all things, so don’t throw up your HANDS.

The participants of the outing not only enjoyed the friendly atmosphere but also raised awareness through drawing attention to their party and featuring the event in various media sources.

Chebarkul, Chelyabinsk region

The town of Chebarkul was chosen for the WMSD 2013 event in the region well before the world-known meteor fell there in February, which only confirmed that the location had been picked correctly. Here the WMSD tradition goes even further with PwMS in the Chelyabinsk region avidly anticipating the next WMSD throughout the year.

PwMS reach, indeed two goals of staying in the global movement and being in the midst of those who understand them totally! So, a Chebarkul sanatorium in the country welcomed over 30 people from all over the region. At the WMSD event on 29 May, while boasting that almost every forth among them was a wheelchair user, its participants, after they enjoyed the beautiful pine forest and the lake, brainstormed and generated mottos for the campaign, too. Here are some of them:

Walk and ye shall reach

Whatever happens, it surely leads to better life.

While alive we can still be creators.

Rostov

People with MS and their carers do not often have fun in life so they expect it quite naturally at any gathering and, of course, on World MS Days! No wonder, a WMSD programme is always developed taking this into account. To celebrate the WMSD in 2013, eighty-two PwMS in Rostov chose to enjoy a trip along the Don-river and go to a local zoo. And again, these activities were conducted in accessible venues and areas, which just a few years ago was unthinkable of.

We had WMSD functions in many more branches of the All-Russian MS Society. I am excited to note that all those activities received wide coverage in media. It looks like we gradually feel very confident when organising WMSD events, and this allows us to more effectively reach the goals of the WMSD campaign next year!

Pavel Zlobin

Vice President

All-Russian MS Society