What we do

The Association collaborates closely with Ministry of Health and other partners, such as the Lion’s Club, in most of its activities. Currently, our annual activities include commemoration of the World Diabetes Day in November, participation in fund raising sponsored walks, the hosting of the annual diabetes youth camp and bi-monthly support group meetings. The association is often invited to assist other organizations at wellness days and other events. The association has an Action Committee, which is a sub-committee of volunteers who fund-raise and assist with the above-mentioned events. The association sells glucose monitoring equipment and recipe books.

Diabetic Youth Camps

These camps, which are free of charge for youth with diabetes, began in 2004 with picnics arranged by Joy Crosbie and some mothers of children with Type 1 diabetes mellitus. Seven children and their mothers attended the first picnic. The first full weekend camp was in 2008 and 17 youth attended. From 2008 to 2012, an experienced team from the Centre of Diabetes and Endocrinology in Johannesburg, headed by Dr David Segal, a Paediatric Endocrinologist, facilitated the camp. From 2013 up to today, the camp is now fully facilitated by the local health care professionals who include among them 2 Paediatric Endocrinologists, 2 Diabetes Nurse Educators, Registered Nurses and Dieticians.

The main purpose of the camp is to educate the children so that they have the knowledge and confidence to make healthy choices in their day-to-day lives. With knowledge, they have the ability to control their glucose levels as they develop and mature into adulthood. Good glycaemic control from early on is necessary for the prevention of the complications of diabetes so often seen in later life.

The annual diabetes youth camp for the year 2013 was the largest in the history of youth camp, as 73 children aged obetween six and twenty-two years from all over Botswana attended the camp. About 40 of them were from the greater Gaborone area and 33 of them were from the rest of the country. The Ministry ofHealth had availed mini-buses to transport these kids to and from the camp. The activities at the camp included, sporting games, drawings, paintings, chit chatting as well as interactive lectures by various experts. Those lectures covered a variety of sessions ranging from alcohol and diabetes, tobacco use and diabetes, complications of diabetes, life skills, sexual reproductive health plus the question and answer sessions. Despite the fact that diabetes is lifelong chronic illness, there seems to be positive side to be a “diabetic child” according the stories told by the children at the camp. Among the positive attributes of being diabetes is being treated special at home and at school. Some say that they do not participate in mandatory competitive sporting activities at school because of diabetes and they are given anything they want because of their condition. Some of them say their parents have taken advantage of their condition by rejecting work related transfers to faraway places citing a “diabetic child” as one of the reasons why they will not be able to transfer! However, almost all of them said that they hate checking blood glucose now and again. They all seem to enjoy the camp as they say it enables them to meet new people and make friends. Some of the children were very poorly controlled, uninformed, and under-privileged. Those who did not have glucometers, essential for home glucose monitoring, received one. Unfortunately, this testing equipment is expensive and not always available from the government clinics.

At the camp, the children tested their glucose levels six times a day and even at 2am. They were well educated on all aspects of diabetes care, but they also had lots of fun and met others who have the same condition. Friendships were forged and professional support and encouragement given to those who were in need.These camps would not take place without the fund raising efforts by the action sub-committee members of the Diabetes Association, and the generous donations received as a result from companies and individuals in the community.

World Diabetes Day

Every year since 2004, The Diabetes Association of Botswana in collaboration with the Lions Club of Gaborone, Princess Marina Hospital, Diagnofirm and other volunteers, commemorate World Diabetes Day (WDD) in November by offering free cardio-metabolic risk assessments to the public,In 2013, over three hundred members of the public participated in the screening offered at Game City Mall, Gaborone and over two hundred members of the public participated at the event at Gaborone Main Mall.During the week of WDD 2013, educational broadcasts were made over the Botswana Television (BTV) Breakfast show and the “Molemo wa kgang” programme. The national Botswana Radio Botswana morning program, “A o tsogile” carried the educational session on diabetes for the whole week.

Diabetes Support Group Meetings

For over ten years, The Diabetes Association of Botswana has been holding regular Diabetes Support Group Meetings (SGM).These take place every two months and all people with diabetes, their families and friends are welcome to attend.The SGM provides physical, psychological and social support to those with diabetes mellitus and their families, which supplements that given by the national health care system and private health care professionals. Various health care professionals give relevant presentations thus providing on-going education. Participants are given the opportunity to ask questions relating to their diabetes, which provides them with a better understanding of their condition.

Rotary Diabetic Health Day

The Rotary Club of Botswana holds annual health days in villages throughout Botswana and the association assists with this day by providing diabetes awareness, education, and counselling whenever possible.

Other activities of the Diabetes Association of Botswana

Sponsored Walk

The Diabetes Association of Botswana hold annual sponsored walk to raise funds for the association and also to increase awareness about diabetes mellitus. For the year 2013, the walk was sponsored by Nandos.

Sponsored Talk Show

The association also hosted a talk show by a famous TV/Radio personality, Patricia Glynn from South Africa as part of the fundraising effort. The talk show was well attended by 100 participants and it was based on her bestselling book, “What Dawitt Knew”

Other Fund raising events

• Golf Day
• Gaborone city marathon – sponsored walk
• Craft market
• Christmas Fair
• Home glucose monitoring equipment is available at Tshedisa Institute, cost depending on individual circumstances.
• Activities by youth leaders –talks at primary schools and church youth conferences and they assist at all events.