Joost unites sports heroes for MND campaign
MONTECASINO - South African sports heroes are raising awareness of motor neuron disease (MND) with a moving public service announcement (PSA).
The PSA was created by the J9 Foundation in association with Bestmed and was aired at a special preview at the Il Grande cinema at Montecasino.
The J9 Foundation was formed by rugby legend, Joost van der Westhuizen, in aid of those suffering from the same form of debilitating disease he was diagnosed with in early 2011. According to Bestmed CEO Dries la Grange, MND is one of the rare diseases which, at this stage, has no treatment or cure. Over the past few months, Bestmed has been working hand in hand with the J9 Foundation to create a PSA to raise awareness and educate communities.
The proudly South African PSA is also a call to action for the public to donate funds to the J9 Foundation for MND research. Head of marketing for Bestmed, Chris Luyt said the funds collected from the campaign will be used to develop a MND research centre in South Africa. The PSA features a host of sports stars, including Francois Pienaar, Penny Heyns, Gary Player and Joel Stransky, explaining what having MND feels like.
Van der Westhuizen also has a part in the PSA, despite the limitations of his condition, and utters the phrase which is the cornerstone of the entire campaign. “I used to ask myself, why me? Now I ask, why not me?”
Bestmed hopes the PSA will raise awareness via social media. Bestmed and the J9 Foundation are aiming for the hashtag #WhyNotMe to trend on Twitter and the PSA to be shared via social media.
