Vitiligo Support and Research Group - Vitamigos (Cuba)
For their Member Impact project, the Vitamigos organization hosted a public Workshop on "The Psychological and Social Impacts on Dermatology Patients with Vitiligo and Psoriasis", which took place on December 22, 2020 inside the venue of a theater near Holguin City, Cuba.
The event was well-attended by 85 participants including community leaders, local cultural personalities, patients, doctors, and psychologists. 10 presentations were featured, that covered different topics with two main overlapping themes - the scientific and the cultural impacts of the disease. Part of the workshop was also devoted to socializing the GRIDD project, and all that the organization has done in collaboration with GlobalSkin.
As Vitamigos is a patient organization, patients led the event and participated actively during the Workshop sessions. This event took place over 6 hours and topics included The Psychological Effects of Continuing Treatments, Social Barriers for Dermatology Patients with Vitiligo and Psoriasis, Family Support, Society Stigma, Bullying in children and teens, Community Support, and others.
Vitamigos continues to work to research and collaborate with external projects aimed at finding a cure for vitiligo and raising awareness of the disease's significance to the population to avoid discrimination due to the condition. To finalize the event, the organization presented perspectives for the upcoming year and near future. They also reported that 3 doctors have expressed interest in joining the project.
To facilitate communication amongst the community, the organizers has also implemented a WhatsApp group where participants have a platform to share their experiences:
"Today, we learned more than ever, thanks to the organizers. We need more activities like this one."
"The Presentations were fantastic. Thanks to the Group leadership!"
"Now we are more united. When are we going to have the next one?"
When we spoke with Jorge Luis Pérez Hidalgo, President of the Vitiligo Support and Research Group about his thoughts on the event, he stated,
"What impressed me the most is the strength of the group and see how it works even in the most challenging time. To have an in-person event during the pandemic conditions was a real challenge that we were able to overcome due to the strong commitment to our people and clear goals. I am so happy because I could see my brothers and sisters empowered."
