World Vitiligo Day 2015

Wow, June has been a very busy month.  I have been really busy sending out my orders recently and as the weather has improved, I've found that lots of people have been placing orders for Vitiliglow so that they can enjoy wearing less clothes and keeping their patches covered.  I've been really pleased to have some lovely comments back from people as well as some photos - check out my Facebook page www.facebook.com/vitiliglow for more on this.  And if you're a happy Vitiliglow user, please do share a selfie with me if you would like to.  

Today is the fourth World Vitiligo Day.  This date was chosen as it was the death of Michael Jackson, the most famous person to have Vitiligo.  There have been lots of great events - both online and in person - and it's been exciting to see awareness being raised about Vitiligo.  World Vitiligo Day has launched a petition http://25june.org/en/signatures/new to try to raise awareness of Vitiligo and to improve healthcare and education about the condition.  They are aiming to get 500000 signatures so that it can be sent to the Secretary General of the United Nations.  They also want 25th June to be designated World Vitiligo day.  If you would like to help this worthwhile cause, please take some time to complete the online petition.  Here's a copy of my entry to the petition.

I think it's great that there is a global effort to raise awareness of Vitiligo too, because in many countries, there are links to Vitiligo and leprocy which is ridiculous.  In some cultures, people with Vitiligo are often ostracised from their communities and it has an impact on their ability to earn a livelihood.  In 2015 - this just shouldn't be happening anywhere, so I'm all for anything that can be done to make things better for people with Vitiligo around the world.   Obviously having Vitiligo really affected Michael Jackson (although the pressures of fame and his upbringing are also factors).  Although this is a unique case, and many people are very comfortable with having Vitiligo, I think that there are also lots people who aren't and who do feel they get stared at when they go out and haven't covered up their patches. 

The number of selfies on social media in the run up to World Vitiligo Day has been great to see - it's really helping to raise awareness of Vitiligo.   The Vitiligo Society have also been running some events, including a walk through London today to raise awareness of Vitiligo (I couldn't make it, work got in the way) and on Saturday they are hosting a Coffee Morning.  I hope that #WorldVitiligoDay has been a success around the globe and look forward to celebrating again next year.

Polly
Founder of Vitiliglow

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