MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY OF INDIA CHENNAI CHAPTER

ANNUAL REPORT

APRIL 2015 – MARCH 2016

Members of the Managing Committee

Office Bearers:

• Hon Chairperson – Mrs. Ann Gonsalvez • Hon. Vice Chairperson – Mr. A. Ashokan • Hon. Secretary – Mrs. Dolly Khanna • Hon. Jt. Secretary – Ms. S. Smitha • Hon. Treasurer – Mr. Mohammed Jalal • Hon. Jt. Treasurer – Mr. D. Sivakumar

Committee Members:

• Mrs. Prema Srinivasan • Ms. Tara Rao • Mr. Dominic Surrao • Ms. Karen Gonsalvez • Mr. R. Shanmuganathan • Mrs. S. Aryasundari

Number of Members- MS Persons and Members. Total = 315

Create awareness of Multiple Sclerosis & identify persons with MS. To improve the quality of day – to – day life, for people affected by MS.

Our Vision

To promote greater understanding of the needs and challenges of those who

face disabilities due to MS. To provide ongoing financial support and direct services to these individuals with

MS and their care givers.

To put the MS person first To create awareness and invite everyone within their community to join our cause To work together to break down physical, emotional and social barriers To build up hope for those who are differently-abled because of MS.

Support to our MS persons and their families:

Neuro Physiotherapy • This is one of our major

projects. Our Physiotherapists reach out to MS persons in their homes since most of them have difficulty in travelling or are dependent on a walker or are wheel chair bound.

Home / Hospital Visits • Home and Hospital visits, are

done by our Medical Social Worker and our Volunteers from time to time.

MSSI Projects

OUR MISSION

• Our Volunteer from MSSI and BNY Mellon visited the house of MS Person – Mrs. Nisreen Jalal to celebrate her birthday. Mrs. Nisreen Jalal is a blind MS person. So to her it meant a lot to have a group of happy young people visit her, sing Happy Birthday, help her cut a cake and share with many happy anecdotes of Nisreen’s life before she got blind.

Psychotherapy / Counselling • We send Psychotherapists for

counseling to our MSP’s houses, where and when needed.

Medicines / Aids / Equipment

• Distribute mobility aids like walker, water beds, cots, wheelchairs, incontinence pads. We reimburse MS person’s medicine bills, MRI fees, doctors & hospital fees.

Educational Support • By lightening the burden of MS person, we support children by paying

their school, college fees, etc. with the help from AMM Foundation we have distributed scholarships for 20 children of our MS members totally Rs.1,21,400/-.

Free Transport • For MS persons attending the Society’s programmes ,BOSCH provide

free transport facility for MSP’s and their families. We also undertake to pay the cost of transport for the other members of our Society who find it difficult to meet the cost.

• We are reaching patients to Hospital’s / Doctors by our Ambulance Van.

MSSI Reach Out helps getting

• Disability Certificate from the State Commissioner for Differently –Abled , Govt. of Tamil Nadu

• Health Insurance Coverage under the State Govt.ofTamilnadu forless privileged MS persons.

• Life Insurance under the Government of India scheme – Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana

• Disability Insurance under the Government of India scheme – Pradhan Mantri Suraksha BimaYojana

• Fixing appointment for Patients with Neurologists and their follow up consultations and medications.

• Fixing appointment for Patients with Physiotherapists. • Fixing appointment for Patients with Counsellors.

Social Media:

• We are active on Face Book and Twitter, however not able to publicise our activities to a larger audience because of website non functioning since June 2015.

• We have a WhatsApp Group linking all Committee Members of the Chapter.

Face to Face Programme

April 2015 – Meeting with Dr. Ravi Samuel, Psychologist, talk on “MS & Cognition”.

He had more 19 years experience in various hospitals abroad and now in India. He dealt at length with MS and how MS affects these various emotions and how to get rid of negatively, particularly in dealing with MS.

It was very helpful to the patients and their caregivers, as sometimes patients and caregivers are not aware of their own attitudes and emotions and go into depression. Many questions were asked and thought provoking answers came forth.

Our Activities

There was cutting of the cake to celebrate the Birthdays of the month, followed by group games.

May 2015 – World MS Day

BNY Mellon, our corporate sponsor, invited us to have ‘Human Chain’ in their office premises which is situated in the DLF-IT Park in Chennai. This IT Park house 25 IT giants and caters to about 21,000 staff members. Being an ideal place to create “awareness” among the young folk working there, we jumped at the idea.

Noted singer Benzy gave the final touches with the song “Heal the World” and “We are the World” which made the evening really memorable.

MS PATIENTS, MEMBERS & Volunteers HUMAN CHAIN @ DLF IT PARK

On the evening of May 27, 2015, as the sun was going down and the sea breeze

was setting in, 500 employees of BNY Mellon joined about 70 MSPs’ to form a ‘Human chain’. We had with us our great motivator- Politician, Actor and great Theater personality, Mr. S. Ve. Shekher- With slogans of “We’re Stronger than MS” and “Yes we can” rendering the air. We all stood together to show our solidarity with the rest of the World to mark “MS Day”.

Radio stations FM Rainbow, Radio One, All India Radio and Chennai Live Radio, popular channels in South india, in their daily chat shows, broadcasted live talks by noted Neurologists Dr. Natarajan, Rtd. Dean of Madras Medical College, Dr. Arul Selvam of Apollo Hospitals, Dr. Prithika Chari of Global Hospitals. The session with Dr. Suresh Kumar of Vijaya hospitals was interactive with Mrs. Sheeba Chakravarthi, an MS person.

18 Buildings of Prominent History/Repute were lit up in Chennai to mark 18 years of MSSI in Chennai.

The most important of them being the Corporation of Chennai (Ripon Buildings) the sprawling office of the Inspector General of Police ( A Heritage Building), Apollo Speciality Hospitals, Rajan Dental Institute, Ispahani Shopping Centre to name a few.

Benzy leading Human Chain in song Singer Benzy leading the chorus

Corporation of Chennai

July 2015: Mini-Medical Camp

A mini medical camp was held on July 4, 2015 organised with India Home Health

Care, who are the Indian wing of BAYADA Home Health Care – the largest private home health care provider in the U.S.

The health care staff from Bayada Home took assessment for weight, blood test, BP, etc for our MS persons.

Deutche Bank/Bosch Office HQ of Inspector General of Police

The Rajan Dental Care Institute The Acropolis IT Park

There was a Power Point presentation giving details regarding the services of the

BAYADA Home Health Care. Dr. Karthick Viswanathan, spoke on the complications of MS, a person experience and suggested the possible waysof management with regards to daily course of life. The positive mind set of the patient plays a major role in controlling the difficulty that arises in medication process. He also suggested a few tips on how to lead self - confident and motivated lives. Added, he mentioned that the caregiver plays a prominent role in the lives of MS persons.

Sessions on one to one consultation between the MS Person , General Physician and

the Health Care Consultant took place. Sumptuous snacks and tea was served in between the consultation session.

August 2015 – Meeting with Dr. Urmish Mehta

Dr. Urmish H. Mehta - MBBS; MCCP; FCIP; S.A.C; as our guest speaker. A member of American Hypnosis Association (AHA). Life Member of Indian Association of Sports Medicine (IASM), Fellow of College of Independent Practitioners, Member of College of Chest Physicians. He is also a Rotarian from Rotary Club of Chennai Towers.

A fluent speaker, he was addressing our MS persons, caregivers and those present regarding the “The Power of the Mind”. He said our Mind is divided in two parts: - Conscious mind and subconscious mind.

He performed a few simple techniques to demonstrate the power of the

subconscious mind. The participants really enjoyed the session. The Birthday cake was cut by Mr. Shanmuganathan, who, along with his wife,

distributed sweet and savories to everyone on the occasion of his birthday.

September 2015 – Annual General Body Meeting and Election

Our Annual General Meeting was held on September 19, 2015. The balance sheet for the financial year April 2014 to March 2015 were circulated

to all members for their perusal, and adopted and passed. The election for the new the Committee Members for year 2015 – 2018 took

place.

October 2015 – Annual caregiver month and Diwali celebration

This year ‘s Caregiver month, we honoured and appreciated our MS persons children by giving them a small token of appreciation. Mrs. Dolly – Hon. Secretary hand over the gifts to them. They are Master Raguhram and Master Aditya – sons of MSP Mrs. Selvi.S, Master Logeshwa Ran and Miss Haripriya – Children of Mrs. Tamil Selvi, Miss Merlyn – daughter of MSP Mr. Kenzer John, Master Kannan – son of MSP Mrs. Mahalakshmi, Miss Neha – daughter of MSP SheebaChakravarthi, Miss Monisha – daughter of MSP Karpagavalli, Miss Abinya – daughter of MSP Venkatasubramanian.

Then the much awaited fun was the “Housie game”. All joined in the game of housie waiting for their lucky number to be called out. Prizes are given the lucky winners.

One of our MS person – Mrs. Archana Ganesan cheered the members present

with simple zumba step. Riddles and puzzles were also part of the evening celebration.

A birthday cake was cut by Mrs. Mahalakshmi who celebrated her birthday that month.

All enjoyed the evening with sumptuous tea and snacks. The meeting ended with everyone carrying a smile in their faces and Diwali gifts in their hands.

January – 2016 – Meeting the Yoga Instructor

On January 23, 2016 – Mr. G. Venugopal. Msc. MBA and Dr. G. Sujatha, MD, Ph.D, was invited as guest speaker for the evening. Mr. Venugopal who was founder of Sri Patajali Yoga Vidya Kendram introduced the power of “Amurthaghadiya” a powerful technique which is simple , useful in everyday life. He briefly explained the benefit of Yoga.

Dr. Sujatha who is director of Power Management Consultancy and Sri Patajali Yoga Vidya Kendram. She taught some important yoga postures and breathing exercise which is very important and simple for the people with MS.

Sumptuous tea and snacks was served.

February 2016 - Kiss Goodbye to MS.

We observed India’s 1st MS Day which falls on February 7, 2016. In the morning – there was a press meet for a campaign called “Kiss Goodbye to MS”. Kiss Goodbye to MS is a bid or a way for everyone to do something and contribute support that MS people urgently need. We in India – with Bid / Kiss Goodbye to MS are highlighting to the Government of Ministers (GoM) and public at large that “Multiple Sclerosis means Multiple Disabilities”.

February 2016 – Annual Picnic

On that morning , about 95 MS persons and their caregivers boarded 2 buses for our annual picnic at Buharis Blue Lagoon - a beach resort on the shore of Chennai some 15 kilometers away from the City Centre. The ride is an air- conditioned bus gave the MS persons a chance to make friends with the newcomers.

The volunteers from BNY Mellon organized the games for the day whereby all our MS persons and their caregivers participated with great joy till lunch time.

A sumptuous lunch was served and after lunch we continued to have some

more games and lots of singing and dancing by our MS person’s children. Later on, many of the participants ventured to play in the water on the shores. It was an experience for some who had not seen the sea or played in the water foe a long time.

As the sun was setting, we ended the enjoyable day with evening high tea before boarding the bus to return home.

February 2016 – Meets the Experts : “Living with MS”

On 28.2.2016, our MS persons and their caregivers all gathered at the Conference Hall of YWCA Madras International Guest house to hear the talk given by leading Neurologist in Chennai , Dr. Deepak Arjundas. The topic of the day was “Meet the Experts: Living with MS”. He was assisted by Mr. Srinivasan – a Physiotherapist and Mrs. Sri Devi – a Nutritionist.

Dr. Deepak Arjundas addressed our MS persons in what MS is, about

diagnosing, treatment and management to lead a normal life . He answered patiently all the queries that was asked.

Mr. Srinvasan –the senior Physiotherapist of Vijaya Health Centre stressed on the important of physiotherapy for MS person. He advised the MS persons not to be idle wherever they are, but to remain active. The easiest exercise is walking.

Mrs. Sri Devi – the Nutritionist explained how diet plays an important role in our life. The important of Vitamin and seeds in maintaining good health.

BNY Mellon volunteers were present and assisted MS persons by bringing them to and fro for the meeting. They organised games for the children present.

• Creating Awareness

Participated in the Wipro Chennai Marathon expo at the Chennai Trade Centre on January 24, 2016. Ms. Aditya and her family members and other well wishers ran and collected funds on behalf of MSSI. The amount raised this year was Rs.1,42,888/-.

Cheering the runners on January 30, 2016

• Fund Raising

A Bollywood retro musical programme at Museum theatre on July 18, 2015.

We partnered with “Aarohi”a singing group for raising funds and creating awareness.

“Aarohi” a Band which comprises a team of 8 Performers - professionals in their own right, and amateur singers who perform to raise Funds for good causes.

The audience which comprises of over 500 people got to know about Multiple Sclerosis , as a PPT was shown during the interval on MS. It was a fun filled and substantial funds were collected for MS patient’s welfare.

Managing Committee Meetings : May 14, 2015, June 1, 2015, July 20, 2015, September 11, 2015, October 17, 2015, January 9, 2016 & March 12, 2016.

TO OUR PATRONS, DONORS & WELL WISHERS

With Sincere Gratitude We Acknowledge

1. BOSCH Limited - Chennai 2. Kwality Milk Food - Chennai 3. Mahadevlal Bhikulal Agarwal Charitable Trust - Chennai 4. AMM Foundation - Chennai 5. BNY Mellon - Chennai 6. Mr. Sultan Fazelbhoy - Mumbai 7. Mrs. Janaki Venkataraman - Chennai 8. Singhvi Charitable Trust - Chennai 9. Prof. V.S. Sunder – Chennai 10. Mr. Altaf Hussain Parpia - Singapore 11. Mrs. Sarojini Shukla - Chennai 12. Mrs. Priyanka Nanda - Mumbai 13. Sri Nagardas Villabhji Damani Charitable Trust – Chennai 14. Mrs. Neetha Prakash - Chennai 15. M/s. Arihant Foundation & Housing Ltd 16. M/s. Sarita Jain Foundation Trust 17. Indian Oil Corporation 18. Essar Steel Ltd 19. M/s. IVTL Infoview Technologies Pvt Ltd 20. Star Health Insurance 21. Ms. Sadhana Somasekhar 22. M/s. Biogen Idec 23. Indian Overseas Bank 24. M/s. Shanthi Builders 25. Mr & Mrs. S.V. Venkatesan 26. And many more donors and Well Wishers

• R.I.P

With profound grief we inform you the loss of our beloved MS Friends 1. Mrs. Radha Kumar 2. Mr. Giridharan 3. Ms. Akshi Pradeep Jain 4. Miss Nagalakshmi Lima Rose

Patient Welfare expenses details:

Mobility aids / Medical reimbursements Rs. 16,49,354/-

Home Physiotherapy Fees Rs. 1,65,600/-

Picnic Expenses Rs. 1,04,606/-

Total Rs. 19,19,660/-

Administration Expenses Rs.7,90,655/-

Annual Contribution to Head Office Rs. 20,000/-