Diabetes Association of Botswana holds a support group meeting
Correspondent | Thursday June 19, 2014 16:15
In attendance are a mix of doctors, donors, people with the condition and their families and friends. This month’s meeting was held at Princess Marina hospital in the conference room on the third floor.
The association aims to offer support and awareness to the general public on matters surrounding diabetes and as such even goes to great lengths to organise runs and camps for anyone interested.
What is especially interesting about these group meetings is the fact that different types of specialists are invited to give talks on varied topics that surround this affliction.
Dr Dipesalema Joel, specialist in Paediatric Diabetes and Endocrinology (the study of hormones) based at Botswana Baylor Clinic at Princess Marina explained to Mmegi: “This is called Diabetes Support group meeting, an idea born out of compassion for people who live with diabetes and their relatives.
The diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus is a very difficult psychologically as well as socially for anybody to receive at any particular point in time, and it is very hard for people to come to terms with diabetes, so they need support on an on-going basis in order to accept and live positively with diabetes.”
The patients ranged from kids to very elderly people. A heart specialist, Dr Rau, was invited to shed light on how the disease can affect the heart.
Using a series of presentation tools that appealed to both the young and old, even opening up the floor for questions publicly and private interactions after his presentation.
What is obvious is that this association treats all its members like close family and friends. They know each other and those that don’t are quickly welcomed into the fold.
“These meetings have been going on since 2001 and we hold them every two months on the second Thursday where we bring diabetes patients together. We also invite experts to come and teach them about Diabetes and its core motilities or core illnesses on a friendly, relaxed atmosphere where the teaching is done in none technical terms and in a layman’s language.
It also gives a patient, their friends and relatives the opportunity to ask questions that they haven’t been able to find answers to”.
He continued, “we bring different experts to the meetings; for example, we can invite the heart specialist because Diabetes affects the heart, like in this instance Dr Rau who is a heart specialist in based at Bokamoso Private Hospital but also covering Francistown and greater Gaborone”.
Dr Rau stated that diabetes can also affect the eyes, and kidneys and therefore the association usually invites eye, and kidney specialists to their meetings.
“We have also invited dieticians because Diabetes is a disease of the diet, so we invite those to come and advice people on the most suitable diets for patients.”
The list of experts usually invited is long to ensure that anyone who is not afflicted with the disease can benefit immensely from such support meetings. The association does not only offer sit-down talks, they also get involved in rigorous activities like walks for awareness purposes.
Dr Joel went on to elaborate that, “We also run youth camps because Diabetes not only affects older people but also affects young people under the age of 18, even children as young as one month old. So what we do is to bring these children together in a weekend camp which runs from Friday, Saturday and Sunday”.
He said the children get to understand that they are not the only ones living with diabetes in this world; they make friends with each other.
We also have youth leaders trained in peer education for Diabetes. These youth leaders themselves have Diabetes, so they get to educate their peers on living with the disease and we also bring experts to these youth camps too.” The joining fee is P50 every year for membership and people are more than welcome to join for awareness concerning Diabetes and how best to cope with it.