The Association François Aupetit (named after its founder) has its “Maison des MICI” (literally: House of IBD) on the banks of the picturesque canal St Martin near the centre of Paris.
The building houses the association’s offices as well as a welcoming reception area and a meeting room and smaller seminar rooms upstairs.
The Maison des MICI was set up in September 2007 as a place where people with IBD could ‘drop-in’ and talk to volunteers one-to-one (it is near 4 major hospitals which have IBD centres) and to put on regular events, such as talks, workshops, massage sessions and young people’s social evenings.
I was really impressed by what was on offer for people with IBD in Paris and the surrounding departments. It is a unique facility, but one that other countries’ IBD organisations should seriously look at.
The association is currently carrying out a survey of what people with IBD in France have most problems with and are presenting the results to government ministers and policy makers at a public convention at the end of March.
Local meeting have brought up similar issues – problems getting diagnosed, issues around building a long-term working relationship with doctors, plus IBD getting in the way of work, studying and everyday life.
Unfortunately, apart from one of consultation meetings in Rouen, the local area group in Normandy is not very active at the moment – the old co-ordinator has moved to Paris – but I am hoping to meet some local people with IBD before I return to the UK in the summer.