Children of the Moon, the project progresses...

Friday, May 28, 2021

Pierre Déruaz

Here we go...

The Global Grant for the Children of the Moon of Tunisia is launched. With the two clubs of El Menzah (Tunis) and Ferney-Voltaire, this project accepted by the Foundation will allow us to help 700 children suffering from the XP disease.

After several weeks of intensive work, several Zoom sessions with our friends of the club of RC El Menzah and Dr. Zgahl, a specialist in the disease in Tunisia, we launched the application for a Global Grant this morning, April 20, 2021 with all the authorizations of the participating districts and clubs to the Rotary Foundation. Let's keep our fingers crossed for this project to get the full support of the Foundation.

The Children of the Moon Committee of the Ferney-Voltaire club is happy with this decisive step to help 700 children, young and old.

We have received unconditional support from our district 1710, our Foundation representative Nicole Darmency has been an essential link in this chain of solidarity.

We can count on four districts: 1720 Centre-Poitou region, 1780 Rhône-Alpes, Mont-Blanc, and finally, 9010 (Tunisia-Morocco-Algeria) and 1710. More than 22 clubs, emanating from six districts, including our friends from Szentendre (1911), and the club from Adis Entoto (9212).

Two Innerwheel clubs, joined our two clubs to ensure the financing of this magnificent project.

Here is the list of participating clubs:

  1. Addis Ababa Entoto
  2. Amboise
  3. Annecy
  4. Annecy-Rive Gauche
  5. Blois-Loire et Châteaux
  6. Bourges
  7. Châtellerault
  8. Gex-Divonne 
  9. La Marsa
  10. Monastir
  11. Mont-Blanc - Vallée I'Arve, Hte Savoie
  12. Nogent-le-Rotrou La Ferté-Bernard
  13. Orléans
  14. Orléans Ouest
  15. Orléans-Péguy
  16. Szentendre
  17. Tours
  18. Tunis El-Menzah
  19. Valserhône
  20. Innerwheel Annecy
  21. Innerwheel Tunis El Menzah
  22. Ferney-Voltaire


As a reminder:

"Moon children are affected by a serious hereditary disease called "xeroderma pigmentosum". It is a rare pathology in the world (1 to 3 per million), frequent in North Africa (1 child affected for 10 000 inhabitants in the Maghreb countries).

These children are condemned to total confinement throughout their lives, suffering in silence. Indeed, the sun's ultraviolet rays kill them slowly by inducing skin and eye cancers that disfigure them, blind them and destroy them rapidly from childhood. 

The arrival of the new closed and air-conditioned hood-visor will considerably reduce their confinement. It will allow them to go to school safely and to practice outdoor activities. 


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