Charity launches powerlist for chronically ill people of colour

Grassroots reproductive health charity, Cysters, have launched their search for chronically ill people of colour to feature on their first ever Chronic Illness Power List, writes Claudia Congrave.

Cysters was founded in 2015 by polycystic ovary (PCOS) sufferer, Neelam Heera, as way to combat some of the misconceptions around reproductive health, particularly among ethnic communities.

Since its inception, the grassroots charity has been dedicated to supporting individuals and improving the health, education & welfare of those with reproductive & mental health issues.

The launch of Cysters ' Chronic Illness Power List comes in response to a recent campaign around disability and chronical illness that failed to feature people of colour.

In order to dispel the myth around communities being 'hard to reach ' or 'unresponsive ' when it comes to recruitment for campaigns and visibility opportunities, Cysters hopes that future organisations will be able to refer to their power list when seeking representation.

Neelam (pictured) said: “We are conditioned from birth to believe that our voices aren 't important. We are raised to be secondary characters within our own stories. ”

The deadline for applications is 20 August 2021.

For more information click here.

To nominate yourself, click here