Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/882846
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2017 17 Events Team HSBC makes a dash for Team Dr Klown OVER 50 HSBC Malta em- ployees ran, swam, cycled and walked across Gozo and Malta as part of the HSBC Challenge 2017. This event was aimed at bringing smiles to children by raising funds in aid of NGO Dr Klown. The event took off from Gozo with a 6km swim from Ħondoq ir-Rummien to Ċirkewwa. A shorter, 2km swim started off from Comino. The Aħrax area served as the backdrop to the 10km or 5km run, whilst the 50km and the optional 15km cycling circuit was set in the pic- turesque Mġarr area. The 5km walk ended at the Paradise Bay area, where participants were greeted by HSBC Malta Chief Risk Officer (CRO) Joyce Grech and other senior bank officials, family members and colleagues. The sum contributed by the participants was in addition to an amount collected at an ear- lier cycling event organised by a group of HSBC employees on 30th March. Part of the dona- tion will be used to print and distribute especially-designed Dr Klown playing cards to chil- dren during the hospital visits by 'Klowns'. Established in 2010, Dr Klown was set up with the aim of offer- ing clown doctor services in Ma- ter Dei Hospital, in the process making hospital less boring for children. Volunteers undergo a specialised training programme including artistic skill develop- ment as well as psychological support and training. HSBC Malta CRO Joyce Grech said: "My colleagues put a lot of energy and dedication into this charity event. Knowing that this hard work will aid the Dr Klown volunteers and ensure that the hospital environment is less painful for the young patients and visitors is surely well worth all this effort." "Special thanks go to all those involved in the organisation of this challenge. Their efforts cer- tainly went into a commendable cause," she said. This is the sev- enth time the HSBC Challenge has been organised. It was organ- ised by the HSBC Malta Founda- tion and the Bank's Sports and Social Committee. Over 50 employees participated in the HSBC Challenge 2017 in aid of Dr Klown GSD Marketing Ltd proud to support The Bubble – the most sustainable festival in Malta FOR the second year in a row GSDM Ltd has supported the Bubble festival and its goal to reuse all the litter and refuse generated during the festival. This goal is very much in line with the company's philoso- phy regarding waste manage- ment and recycling. In 2016 1.5 tonnes of waste were disposed of without a single kilogramme going to the landfill. A series of meet- ings between the company and the festival organisers were held to ensure GSDM Ltd's support could help the festival become more sus- tainable. "As a company we are proud to be able to sponsor such events, which put sustain- ability at the core of their ethos. As a company we have been promoting responsible disposal of our packaging with consumers for many years and we continuously strive to ensure that most of our packaging is recovered after use and recycled," said George Douglas Saliba, Pub- lic Affairs and Communica- tions Manager of GSD Mar- keting Ltd. "We are also leading the Crush the Bottle campaign with GreenPak. This cam- paign focuses on the need to reduce plastic pollution, optimise space in recycling bags and increase collection rates of plastic bottles. As a company, we are constantly working to increase recy- cling as well as champion continuous improvement for the recovery of packaging'." The 2017 edition of The Bubble Festival superseded last year's impressive num- bers of attendees and ran for a full week with events that ranged from workshops about deep ecology to intro- ductions to permaculture and free diving to live music and poetry readings. Dancing with disease STEP Up For Parkinson's, the NGO set up to teach dance to help sufferers of the motor disease, held an event at San Anton in the presence of the President of Malta to a packed room last week. Presentations consisted of a welcome from the founder, Natalie Muschamp, an ad- dress by President Marie- Louise Colero-Preca, and a speech and series of videos from Marc Vlemmix, who, since the age of 37 has suf- fered from the disease and discovered that dance helps sufferers to more easily 'send messages from their brain to their limbs'. The daughter of one of the participants in the dance classes which are free and run weekly at the Swieqi lo- cal council, moved members of the audience to tears with her talk, praising the organi- sation for the initiative and urging more support. The co- founder of the NGO, Rachelle Muschamp asked the audi- ence to spread the word about the workshops to anyone they knew so the technique, which is currently helping 30 of the 1,400 registered sufferers in Malta, can be extended to help more and their families. Step Up For Parkinsons also need space to hold the workshops as more and more physiotherapists and dance teachers are being trained in the technique. The classes are given free of charge to suffer- ers and their loved ones, ena- bling a deeper understanding of the disease, a joint, fun ac- tivity and a respite from the daily stresses of the disease. Any organisation, family or individual wishing to find out more can visit www.stepup- forparkinsons.com . • Tremor. A tremor, or shaking, usually be- gins in a limb, often your hand or fingers. You may notice a back-and-forth rubbing of your thumb and forefinger, known as a pill-rolling tremor. One characteristic of Parkinson's dis- ease is a tremor of your hand when it is relaxed (at rest). • Slowed movement (bradykinesia). Over time, Parkinson's disease may reduce your ability to move and slow your movement, making simple tasks difficult and time-con- suming. Your steps may become shorter when you walk, or you may find it difficult to get out of a chair. Also, you may drag your feet as you try to walk, making i t difficult to move. • Rigid muscles. Muscle stiffness may occur in any part of your body. The stiff muscles can limit your range of motion and cause you pain. • Impaired posture and balance. Your posture may become stooped, or you may have balance problems as a result of Parkinson's disease. • Loss of automatic movements. In Parkin- son's disease, you may have a decreased ability to perform unconscious movements, includ- ing blinking, smiling or swinging your arms when you walk. • Speech changes. You may have speech prob- lems as a result of Parkinson's disease. You may speak softly, quickly, slur or hesitate be- fore talking. Your speech may be more of a monotone rather than with the usual inflec- tions. • Writing changes. It may become hard to write, and your writing may appear small. The main and most common symptoms of Parkinson's are: