Mass painting for vitiligo awareness

Madurai: Around 2,000 students participated in a mass painting programme at The American College on Thursday as part of World Vitiligo Day 2026, with organisers using art and awareness campaigns to challenge misconceptions surrounding the skin condition.The event, organised jointly by Vitiligo Awareness Movement-India, Exnora International, the college’s department of microbiology and Tamil Nadu Science Forum, featured an awareness seminar followed by a mass painting activity. Students painted and wrote messages on a banner stretching nearly half a kilometre.Addressing the gathering, Vitiligo Awareness Movement-India secretary K Umapathy said vitiligo is an autoimmune disorder, which is neither contagious nor caused by bacteria or viruses.He said the organisation had facilitated 477 marriages involving people with vitiligo. “More than 700 children have been born to these couples, and none has developed vitiligo, helping dispel the misconception that the condition is hereditary,” he said.