The second annual SICK Pride will take place from 2pm to 4pm on Sunday November 17, on the lawn of the Arderne Botanical Gardens at 222 Main Road, Claremont, and everyone affected by energy-limiting chronic illness is invited.

Around 50 people gathered for a picnic at Arderne Gardens in Claremont, at last year’s inaugural SICK Pride. PICTURE: SUPPLIED

This 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.

Cape indigenous musician, song medicine woman and ancestral lineage healer, Ernestine Deane, will once again be opening proceedings under the giant tree and will be joined by Afro-soul singer, Nosie Dyantyi-Mwanda.

Organisers say while energy-impaired people with ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) or Long Covid who are mostly bed-bound or house-bound cannot parade, they can lounge in style.

This year’s theme is “Persistence is Resistance”, so take a picnic and get comfy.

As there are now 400 million people with Long Covid worldwide – 10 times the global population living with HIV – organisers say “it is time to make our ‘invisible illness’ visible”.

Building on 2023’s spontaneous contributions from participants, in 2024 they're asking Spoonies to bring something that has sustained them through their years of illness: a song, a poem, a prayer or an artwork to share.

According to MEpedia, a crowd-sourced, Wikipedia-style encyclopaedia of the news, history, and science of ME, formerly known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), the “spoon theory” is a way of describing the experience of chronic illness and its limitations using a metaphor. Each unit of energy is represented by a spoon.

• Well people have more spoons (energy) than the chronically sick, who have to make tough decisions about which activities to spend their limited number of spoons (energy) on.

• A person with Mild energy-limiting chronic illness may be well enough to work, but they will not have enough spoons left to socialise in the evenings or weekends.

• A person with Moderate chronic illness is usually house-bound, and their limited spoons mean they may have to choose between cooking and showering.

• A person with Severe chronic illness is mostly bed-bound in a darkened room and has so few spoons they may struggle to chew, look at a screen or get to the toilet.

SICK Pride organising team (l to r): Dr Uvi Naidoo and Thérèse Fensham, Bettie Hough, Mlindeni Gabela and Sam Pearce of MELCuSA (ME and Long Covid Unite South Africa). PICTURE: SUPPLIED

For more information about SICK Pride 2024, contact Mlindeni Gabela on 078 937 9393 or email Sam Pearce at samfleurpearce@gmail.com

SICK T-shirts will be available for a donation.

Note this will be a Covid-safe event: N95 respirator masks will be available for all.

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SICK Pride 2024 showcasing ‘Persistence is Resistance’