I would like to make a Grant proposal that would fund finding a cure for vitiligo, and to raise its awareness.I want to raise awareness because currently there is only one foundation in Florida, once a year for this Vitiligo convention, and I would like to have one in California as well. If we can keep starting foundations around the world we can get more people together. So my name is Ava Boyd and yes, I have the skin condition Vitiligo.
Vitiligo causes white patches to appear anywhere on the skin. This disorder affects all races and both sexes equally and can occur at any age. Melanocytes are the cells that give us our skin color, eye color and hair color and Vitiligo destroys that. So after they are destroyed the skin starts to have white patches on the body and even the hair color turns white. It is when white cells appear and they kill the red blood cells which are your natural skin cells and it turns them white, so it keeps growing and spreading.
I would like to have a program in California for the people who have vitiligo to get together and raise awareness. We need the funding to find a cure that is safe for kids and not damaging to the body. 1 percent of the world’s population have vitiligo so maybe I could get enough funds to set up travel costs to have more programs in America. For the kids that can’t travel to Florida I can just come to them.
If funded this grant I would try and start a foundation and conventions around my area to start. I would use it for travel costs so I can go outside of my area to come for the people that can’t travel as far for these conventions out of states. The money would also go towards doctors like a dermatologist to take a closer look at vitiligo and start finding a cure. If we have more funding, that means more work with be put towards vitiligo research. My dream would be to have a cure that is safe for kids, and that their skin goes back to natural skin color.
Vitiligo doesn’t harm you in any way it just takes the color out of you. Growing up with vitiligo isn’t just like everyone els. Kids ask questions about it or they can be mean. The most common comment I head was “You look like a cow!” Sometimes I think what my life would have been like having normal skin like everyone els and actually looking like my ethnicity, but I think that it has made me into a mature human being. Kids and adults can feel depressed because they feel insecure about their vitiligo but if we have conventions people can meet other people just like them and can share their own personal stories to make them feel better.
avaandbri3 