The “ZAEV – One Society for All” Foundation, guided by its views, goals, and principles, above all, emphasizes care for the youngest. With that in mind, we rightly ask: is there anything more important in this world than children? Of course not. If so, and it is, then it is good for us all to agree that children, wherever they are, deserve to be happy, and to be happy, they need to be healthy first and foremost.

Unfortunately, we live in a time when an increasing number of people lack empathy, a time when ego, instead of humanity, guides them through life. It is time to “restart”: to work on ourselves, to finally realize that we should not look only in front of ourselves and only for ourselves, but widen our horizons to include all the horizons around us. Only then will we realize that there are children who face serious health problems, who need help to fulfill their dreams, to be part of a large family of healthy and happy children.

For thirteen years in a row, on a global level, the month of September has been dedicated to raising awareness among the general public about “Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy”, and September 7 is marked as the World Day of this rare disease. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a severe, progressive, rare genetic neuromuscular disease that causes rapid weakening and degeneration of the muscles in the body. It is the most common form of muscular dystrophy in children and primarily affects boys (about 1 in 3,300 to 3,500 newborn boys), as women are most often only carriers of the gene, without developing symptoms. A mutation of the DMD gene on the X chromosome causes the disease. This gene produces dystrophin, a key protein that acts as a “shock absorber” and protects muscle cells from damage during movement. In children with this disease, dystrophin is completely absent, which leads to the gradual breakdown of muscle fibers and their replacement with fatty and fibrous tissue. Symptoms usually become noticeable in early childhood, usually between the ages of 2 and 4. Most motor skill problems appear: delayed walking, difficulty running, jumping, and climbing stairs, weakness in the muscles of the pelvis and thighs, pseudohypertrophy, frequent falls, etc. Since the disease is progressive, the condition worsens over time; the ability to walk is lost, and in the early teenage years (between 10 and 12 years), children become wheelchair-bound…

Unfortunately, there is still no cure for the disease, but medicine is advancing, and there are treatments that significantly slow down its course, improving the quality of life. For these reasons, we must increasingly raise awareness about the existence of the disease, accepting the truth that children with “Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy” are also part of our society. They are not “some other children out there”, but our children.

We at the “ZAEV – One Society for All” Foundation say: Let “tomorrow” be better than “yesterday” and “today”, so that every child can be healthy and happy.