Alhamdulillah throughout August in conjunction with World Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month this year, SMA Malaysia organized two main programs, one of them was the SMA Fighters Chess E-Sport Championship which took place successfully on August 21, 2022, via Zoom. A total of 44 participants participated and not only consisted of SMA families but also the public. All of them have been together online for more than 8 hours, from 8.30 am to 6.00 pm, to present their chess-playing skills and then win the championship. In addition, during the program, SMA Malaysia showed videos about 'What is Spinal Muscular Atrophy'; activities carried out by SMA Malaysia; and the Eternal Memories of SMA Fighters who passed away due to SMA.
This program has been managed by four SMA Fighters led by Mr. Ahmad Nazmi Md Nizam as Program Director and assisted by Ms. Anis Adilah Amlaki, Ms. Siti Hawa Apandi, and Ms. Siti Safura Jaapar, each performing their duties as Secretary, Online Coordinator, and Program Treasurer. This program was also jointly organized by the Rare Diseases Alliance Foundation Malaysia (RDAFM) and its Chairman, Yang Berbahagia Dato Hatijah Ayob was so kind to attend the Closing Ceremony and Winner Announcement. This program has been recognized as a National Level Program by the Malaysia Chess Federation (MCF). Syarikat Abdul Wahab (SAW) and also RDAFM have sponsored cash prizes for all the winners where the 1st place winner won a cash prize of RM200 and a certificate of achievement. While 3RG Resources has provided technical support for the competition.
Overall, this program is seen to increase community awareness and concern as well as promote positive interaction between the community and the SMA community and other rare disease patients. SMA Malaysia would like to thank all parties involved in organizing, sponsoring, and participating in the competition.
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