When my mother was diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, our world changed overnight.

PSP is a rare, aggressive neuro-degenerative disease that's often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's. It robs people of their ability to walk, to speak, to swallow, and there is currently no cure. Most people have never heard of it. I hadn't either, until it became our reality.

Watching someone you love face a disease that so few people understand is isolating. But it also lit something in me, a need to do more than just stand by.

Last year, I was crowned Miss International Hong Kong 2026. In November, I'll represent Hong Kong at Miss International in Japan, standing alongside delegates from over 80 countries. I chose health and well-being as my advocacy, not because it's a safe topic, but because it's personal.

I'm not a doctor. I'm not a researcher. I'm a 24-year-old digital transformation consultant who spends her days in IT and her evenings preparing for an international stage. But I believe that awareness is the first step toward change, and this platform gives me a voice that reaches further than I ever could alone.

Every dollar raised goes directly to CurePSP to fund research, support families, and push us closer to a future where no one has to hear "there's nothing we can do."

This isn't just a pageant journey. This is for my mum. This is for every family navigating a diagnosis they can barely pronounce. This is for the researchers working toward a breakthrough that can't come soon enough.

If you can't donate, share this story. The more people who know what PSP is, the harder it becomes to ignore.

Thank you for being part of this fight.

Clarisse Achard

Miss International Hong Kong 2026

Instagram: @clarisse.ache