Actor Warwick Davis, star of the Star Wars and Harry Potter series, has started an organization dedicated to providing little people with support.
According to Peterborough Today, Davis has created Little People UK along with his wife Sam and others with dwarfism. He says that he has wanted to do something like this for twenty years. “This is something I’m really passionate about, especially when you think ‘how can these people be in such a lonely and confused state in this day and age?” Davis says.
The inspiration has come from his own experiences and those of others he has met. “My parents had me in the 1970s and they were very tall, and I don’t know how they ever coped with bringing me up with the poor medical advice that was around at the time. It was said that I wouldn’t live to be a teenager.”
He says that it continues to be difficult for those with dwarfism seeking medical care. “I met a couple of weeks ago some parents whose three-year-old daughter had been diagnosed with Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED). They thought let’s get in touch with Warwick and I met with them to chat about the condition, including the possible complications associated with this type of dwarfism,” he adds.
Little People UK had events Saturday and Sunday at Pen Green Children’s Centre to official launch the organization, and Davis says 130 people attended. The actor says, “We are still in the very early stages of the organisation. It has been set up by people drawn from different backgrounds, so we have lots of perspectives all with one goal – to help provide friendly, open support to parents and families. One aim is to be a social group that is very welcoming, friendly and offers resources for medical information, including a database for doctors with specialist expertise.”
The organization, with one aim being to “instill confidence and self-belief in people with dwarfism” according to Davis, also hopes to launch a helpline for people to call and a scholarship fund for children with dwarfism.
About Jennifer Mishler
Jennifer is an animal advocate and activist. She is a volunteer coordinator with The Girls Gone Green, a nonprofit organization advocating for animals rights, veganism, and environmentalism. She is also an Onshore Volunteer with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and a volunteer with CJ Acres Animal Rescue Farm, a nonprofit that rescues and rehabilitates farm animals. Along with writing for Ecorazzi, she writes about veganism and animal rights on her blog, A Dog's Eye View. She lives in Jacksonville, FL with her husband and their three animal friends. Follow Jennifer on Twitter: @jennygoneveganView all posts by Jennifer Mishler →
