“It’s so important to tell them what Ria went through and her story and use that to raise awareness to everybody at every opportunity.”
To many meningitis is just a word – they may have heard of the disease but they don’t know anything else about it, what symptoms to look for or what action to take if it is suspected.
Well, one determined mother in the West Midlands is doing everything in her power to change that as part of our No Plan B for MenB campaign and taking every opportunity to spread awareness to everyone in her local community, in memory of a beloved daughter lost to the disease.
Our supporter Kiran lost daughter Ria to meningitis in 2023. Nineteen-year-old Ria was studying law at Aston University in Birmingham when she became ill and died. Earlier this year, with support from our Rebuilding Futures Fund, Kiran unveiled a memorial bench to Ria near to the Students’ Union building at the university.
Wonderful thing
Kiran told us: “The bench will be a memory place for anyone who knew Ria to go to visit, sit and think about her. It will be easy for me and her friends to go to. If having this bench can help raise awareness and can help someone else then this is a wonderful thing we are all doing.
"Having the bench at Aston University, where Ria was studying, will help other students to learn about meningitis. They’ll be able to raise awareness and look out for each other.
“The university has helped me a lot, as they are keen to spread meningitis awareness to other students after losing a student to this disease.”
Just the beginning
But unveiling the bench is just the beginning of the awareness story for Kiran, not the end. She’s now taken on a one-woman mission to educate her community in Sandwell, and is taking every opportunity to spread the awareness message to everybody she can.
This has included putting up posters and distributing our signs and symptoms cards at her local temple and at the primary school that Ria’s sisters, Vanessa and Charlotte, attend.
She’s also been leafleting local GPs and encouraging everyone eligible to take up their vaccinations. To check your eligibility have a look at our website page, What meningitis vaccines are available in the UK?
And Kiran’s also taking her mission right to the top, getting in touch with her local MP to hopefully get the issue debated in the House of Commons.
It’s so important
“Telling people what Ria went through is so important”, Kiran said. “My experience with my daughter was that it was very difficult to identify meningitis as the cause of her illness straight away – I originally thought she had been overworking. Too often you just don’t know and because meningitis can develop so quickly it’s so important to get it identified and treated quickly.
“But even better is preventing it happening in the first place and that’s why I’m keen to promote vaccination and supporting Meningitis Now’s No Plan B for MenB campaign.
“So many people I speak to have heard of meningitis but it’s just a word to them – they don’t know what it can do, how to recognise it or what to do about it.
“That’s why it’s so important to tell them what Ria went through and her story and use that to raise awareness to everybody at every opportunity.”
Thank you Kiran for everything you’re doing to support our work and help raise awareness – we really appreciate all your efforts.
