Charity of the month: AYME Mums

ME, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, is a medical condition affecting around 250,000 people in the UK every day. It’s difficult to diagnose and is characterised by a wide range of symptoms including intense fatigue, aches and pains and the inability to concentrate or perform every day tasks. Symptoms range in intensity and for children, it comes down to their families to care for them and make their lives as normal as possible which adds great pressure and stress to the lives of all affected.

Our April charity of the month, AYME Mums, is a group of 20 inspiring mothers with children suffering from the debilitating illness, who have come together to raise funds and awareness, not only for the sufferers but also for their families who are so heavily effected as well. They aim to raise £25,000 by knitting 25,000 tulips to reflect the same number of children estimated to be suffering which will provide vital support for these brave families.

The group was inspired to knit tulips over any other flower by a piece of writing by Emily Perl Kingsley entitled ‘Welcome to Holland’. AYME mum, Jackie Rounsley, has said of the poem “The piece explains how having a child with a disability can be like being welcomed to a holiday in Holland, when you’d been expecting to go to Italy. It’s a different place and not what you were expecting at all. But when everything sinks in and you look a little closer, you realise the beauty of where you are. If you spend your life mourning the Italy you never got to visit, you’ll never appreciate the beauty of where you are, or what you have. The passage really spoke to us, and as a group of mothers who have all experienced the isolation and challenges which come with having a child with ME/CFS, we wanted to get together and do something proactive to raise awareness of the condition.” You can find the poem at Experience Project.

Help in any form will make a big difference in supporting both the sufferers and their families. Visit AYME for more information on the charity, email knitatulipforme@yahoo.co.uk for a pattern to knit or go to Just Giving to donate. Or simply like their Facebook page to help raise awareness and show your support!