DISARMING DIABETES DAILY

Certificate ceremony at the conclusion of the NGO's Capacity Building Academy in Kampala Africa Diabetes Alliance volunteers participated in the Capacity Building Academy run by Ms. Cynthia Tysick in collaboration with the Global Partner Studio at the University of Buffalo in New York. This event was held from the 10-12th June 2023 at the American Centre in Kabalagala,  Kampala, Uganda . Class in session This three-day training covered 6 different topics including; How to develop an organization's theory of change for impact Empowering women and vulnerable communities Non-profit Fundraising and resource mobilization Engagement and communication Website development and social media management  If you are an organization leader thinking of how to set up your organization for success, the Capacity Building Academy may be just what you need and lucky for you, this is an online academy with outstanding courses that you can find here .

The A f DA commemoration of World Diabetes Day, 2022 In honor of Diabetes Awareness month 2022, which is commemorated every November on the 14th, and also doubles as Frederick Banting's birthday, our community had first event gathering since the Covid-19 pandemic disruptions in programming and activities. Many of our members had been through so much in the course of the pandemic such as some misinformation, fear and even newly diagnosed individuals who were navigating challenges in isolation. We knew that we all needed to meet up once again with the community for support, encouragement, camaraderie  and building rapport. We were very fortunate to have been offered a beautiful venue, free of charge at  Concern for the Girl Child , a non-profit organization in Ntinda, Kampala, that supports young women and girls to get education and opportunities to thrive. The offer provided us a stress free, safe and open area for both children and adults to interact and we are forever thankfu...

The AfDA Emergency Medical information cards   The year was 2020 and the world was in the throes of a global pandemic known as the Covid-19 pandemic. Our WhatsApp support group was growing as the world went digital, and people tried to find information and support to navigate through a scary time. Word on the street was that people living with Diabetes had the highest risk of dying from this new, unknown threat. Countries locked down and many things came to a standstill, even though our very real needs for food, medicine, connection and life kept on knocking. As we shared our challenges with navigating this new normal, one of our new members, Olayemi, told us that as he tried to travel in order buy insulin, he had met police who had searched him, found his insulin and syringes, and believing that they were illegal drugs, had confiscated them, and locked him in prison with no interest in listening to his pleas. Fortunately, they had let him go the next day and he informed us of his ...

Written by Vero Kange June 10 th 2018 was quite a day.  There are millions of things I can say about that day but to sum it all in one word; ANSWERS. On that Sunday evening, at Norvik Hospital, Kampala, I learnt why I had had tingles in my legs for a while, why I was easily losing weight despite my insatiable sweet tooth, why I peed volumes of urine all the time, why I was always thirsty, why I slept all the time, everywhere, you see, for a very long time, all these things bothered me and I had all these unanswered questions lingering on my mind. Quite often, I would actually promise to take some   time off and read on the possible cause of all these weird bodily characteristics I had developed but never really got around to doing it. Yes, feel free to roll your eyes like I've done countless times since. When I finally arrived at the answers though, my oh my, was I not prepared to hear them. Nonetheless, 10 th  June came, accompanied by information ov...

Written by   Benjamin Mafale from Zambia My name is Benjamin, a 19 year old type 1 diabetes patient living in Zambia. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in mid-2016 at the age of 15. I came to know about my condition when I was in grade 11 in boarding at Kalomo secondary school. My experience started suddenly with some presentations of type 1 diabetes. In the unknown early symptoms of my condition polyuria (frequent urination), dehydration, extreme hunger and loss of weight. During that period, blood tests were carried out and when the results came out it was positive hyperglycemic (+++). This contributed to admission in the hospital for about 7 days for further investigations and monitoring of my blood sugars. While in the hospital I made some approach on diabetes management and got a nutritionist for diet advice. Later on after being advised on how to manage my condition with diet, medications and other ways, I was discharged to go home. Though it was somethin...

Written by Sharon Atim Before diagnosis I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes on February 27, 2013 at the tender age of 26. My immediate response was shock because until that day,  there was no one with diabetes  in my family. I'm still the only person living with it. Secondly, I did not know type 2 diabetes happened to people in their 20s when I was diagnosed. I thought it was something you got when you were a senior citizen over 60, so I felt alone for a while. I am sharing my story in the hope that someone out there will know that they are not the only ones going through this. I remember crying myself to sleep on many occasions asking myself how this monster disease could befall me; but I hope that I  can give someone else the comfort and courage they need, that I needed too, to keep fighting, for there is still so much they can do with their lives. My blood sugar was 27 mmol/L when I gained admission. I had blurred vision, frequent thirst and urination, ...

Written by Sarah Biyinzika, YLD Uganda representative, YLD Africa Region representative, 2019-2021 Talking about challenges faced in managing diabetes in my country Uganda Allow me take you through how I got to participate in the  International Diabetes Federation  (IDF)  Young Leaders in Diabetes  (YLD) 2019-2021 Program. After a spell of poor management and health challenges, I got involved in diabetes advocacy. In 2018, I started a blog called The African Diabetic (which will soon be changed to The Ugandan Diabetic) where I shared my stories, challenges and triumphs as a type 1 diabetic (T1D). I did this in an attempt to get back on the right track with my health as well as reach others that felt alone in the struggle. I also started my search for other Diabetics and that’s how I met Mukantwari Edith Prudence Sabiiti.  Not only was she a fellow Type 1 Diabetic diagnosed the same year as myself, she was also a nutritionist. Since nutrition was ...