Muhammad Ali’s daughter to visit Wellington

14 October 2005
Media release

Muhammad Ali’s daughter to visit Wellington

The public will have a chance to meet Muhammad Ali’s daughter Rasheda when she visits Wellington in November.

Rasheda will be in New Zealand working with Parkinsons New Zealand to help promote Parkinson’s Awareness Week which runs from 1 to 7 November. She will be involved in a number of activities promoting better understanding of Parkinson’s, and her newly published book I’ll hold your hand so you won’t fall – a child’s guide to Parkinson’s Disease.

While in Wellington Rasheda will be the special guest at Picnic in the Park a family fun day for people with Parkinson’s, their families and the general public. Picnic in the Park will be held in the Dell at the Botanic Gardens on Sunday 6 November starting at 12.00pm. Entertainment, children’s activities and a sausage sizzle will be provided and guests are invited to bring their own picnic basket

Parkinson’s is a slowly progressive condition which occurs when insufficient quantities of the chemical dopamine is produced by the brain.

“It is a very complex disease,” said Rasheda, “No two people are affected in the same way. As Parkinson’s is a movement disorder, all areas can be affected – from being able to get up and down from a chair to being able to laugh at a joke.”

As well as the picnic Rasheda will also be involved in a number of Parkinson’s Awareness Week activities including opening a seminar in Auckland, and a book launch in Dunedin.

Support for Picnic in the Park has been provided by Wellington City Council, Prestons, Whittakers, SPARC, the Wellington division of the Cancer Society and Hiremaster.

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