MSIF is pleased to announce that the 2005 Nicholson Award for International Caregiver goes to Maria Broeckx from Belgium.
Maria was born in October 1937. In 1980, her husband Julien was diagnosed with an aggressive and progressive form of MS and he had to stop working very soon thereafter.
Though both were members of the Belgian MS Society – Flemish region, there were not enough opportunities to meet other people with MS on a regular basis, and so Maria started a self-help group in their region. This was a huge success and from then on they would meet every month.
Early on, Maria realised that those caring for people with MS had common concerns, and she established a separate meeting for the partners and other carers. This was the first dedicated self-help group for this community in Belgium.
Following on from the success of these groups, Maria turned her attention to the impact of MS on the children in those families where a parent was suffering from this illness (Maria and Julien had one daughter - Ria). Maria did not hesitate to contact a specialist psychologist and shortly afterwards a group for children of a parent with MS was launched – once again, the first such group in the Flemish region of Belgium.
In 1996 her husband Julien was diagnosed with intestinal cancer and by 1997 this had spread to his lungs. Sadly, in 2001 Julien died of his cancer. Throughout this exceptionally difficult period, Maria took care of her husband at home, never stopping with the organising of meetings for the different self-help groups.
In 1999 she studied to become an MS counsellor and is now recognised locally as one of the best MS counsellors attached to the Belgian MS Society. With her open mind and sensitivity to the needs of the person with MS, she has been able to help hundreds of people directly as well as making sure they are in close contact with the social services of the MS Society. To this day, Maria continues to chair meetings of the 3 self-help groups.
Maria is a person who is always ready to help other people. She prefers not to walk in the spotlight, but works silently in the background. This award isn’t intended to change that, but to recognise the exceptional job she has done for her husband, and others with MS in Belgium.




For further information contact:
Cecilia Neher
Information and Communications Manager, MSIF
Skyline House, 200 Union Street, London, SE1 0LX

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7620 1911
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7620 1922
cecilia@msif.org
www.msif.org