2015
Educational weekend camps:
Hosted 9 camps for 250 children (including our first ever teen camp in Cape Town).
Botswana runs their camps independently after YWD mentored their leaders and staff. They hosted two camps this year with the help of the Youth leaders trained by YWD.
Youth leader training:
We offered a 10-day training workshop in South Africa for delegates from Ghana, Gambia, Togo, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia. Each country sent one IDF African Young Leader and one healthcare professional from their related IDF Member Association to participate (18 – 27 September 2015). Topics addressed included Camp logistics, Diabetes education, Psychosocial aspects of diabetes, Project management, and Clinical focus. Delegates received a manual titled “African Camp Manual”, which was a collaboration of content by YWD, Life For A Child (Australia) and the Diabetes Education and Camping Association (USA). Delegates also attended a 3-day camp of YWD for children aged 7-13.
As a result of this training, an educational event was hosted in each of the 6 countries. Attended by 132 children and 125 parents/caregivers. A camp was also hosted in each country, attended by a total of 196 children.
This project was funded by the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF). Click here for more information.
School programme:
Forty (40) schools were visited and about 800 teachers were taught how to manage diabetes if they had a child in their class. Each teacher was left with the YWD booklet to keep in the classroom in case they needed to refer to it if they were dealing with emergency procedures. The feedback from teachers was very positive and they felt less afraid of determining or handling high or low blood glucose levels in the children. They were given contact numbers to call if they were struggling at any particular point so that any diabetes related problem could be resolved as quickly as possible.
Other initiatives:
1. Support days or educational events:
Jewish day camp where Martin Salkow shared his inspirational story, and we covered various educational, dietary and exercise protocols. The highlight of the day was by a local Rabbi (also living with Type 1) discussing the management of diabetes during religious holidays.
YWD Chairperson received a grant and sponsorship to attend an international ADA conference in Boston US. She also visited the Joslin Clinic with the main focus on how they manage youth with diabetes and hosting camps and visited the Elliot Joslin Camp to learn from the camp co-ordinator how they run camps. She also attended an ADA camp in Philadelphia for 4 days to observe how they host their camps.
2. World Diabetes Day awareness events:
Supported Project Hope by entertaining the youth with face painting and small competitions at the diabetes awareness day in Zandspruit
Lend support to the nursing sister who looks after youth in Marang house.
Hosted a stand at the Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology (CDE) Annual Forum at Birchwood Hotel and Conference Centre and our “Mad Hatters” theme, illustrated the complexity of diabetes management.
3. Media coverage:
Full articles in Diabetes Lifestyle Magazine:
- Lack of access to diabetes resources in Africa – by Kerry Kalweit
- Youth With Diabetes Invests in the Future – by Hester Davel
YWD Editorials in the Diabetes Lifestyle by Eileen Pringle:
- Diabetes and Social Support
- Chalk Talk on Diabetes and a Day at School
- How to Manage Diabetes When Illness Strikes
- Signs and symptoms of diabetes