Summer Camp for kids living with diabetes

Summer camps are usually about sports, arts, education and the like but one started this morning with a health theme of a disease that is affecting thousands. There is no known data on the exact number of children living in this country with diabetes, but the camp is geared exclusively to this group. Over thirty children and young adults are learning to live with and manage the condition. The camp will continue for the rest of the week at the ITVET. News Five’s Delahnie Bain reports.

Delahnie Bain, Reporting

The second annual Belize Diabetes Association Summer Camp for children living with type one diabetes started today at the ITVET. It may be the most valuable summer activity for the participants, who will learn how to manage the incurable condition.

Anthony Castillo, President, Belize Diabetes Association

Anthony Castillo

“As you may be aware, diabetes is one of these chronic conditions at this time that have no cure and as a child, living with diabetes you will be living with this condition for the rest of your life. So what we’re doing with this camp is to teach the children how to cope with the condition to avoid all the many complications that go along with diabetes.  As a child, when you find out that you are living with the condition diabetes, then the parent would do the most of your testing and also giving the insulin injection, but as you grow up then these are some of the skills you need to learn and do for yourself. So at this camp, they’ll be learning how to do testing, they’ll be learning how to give themselves the insulin injection, they will learn about exercise; basically the three things to control diabetes.”

Those skills will be taught with the assistance of professionals brought in by the Belize Diabetes Association, New York.

Ernestine Augustus

Ernestine Augustus, Vice President, Belize Diabetes Assn., New York

“I’m doing an educational piece incorporating art and the kids diet. Actually, what I’m going to be doing is preparing a book with nutritious foods that they can eat, what are some of the things that they should not touch and the things that they should eat more of.”

Ariel Soucie, Physical Therapist

Ariel Soucie

“Thia and I will be talking about the importance of incorporating exercise into their lives to control their blood sugar levels to prevent future problems that are related to diabetes such as cardiovascular problems and kidney problems, problems with their vision are related to having uncontrolled levels of sugar.”

Thia Hall

Thia Hall, Physical Therapist

“We’re also here to help empower the kids, give them activities and physical exercises to do to build confidence because that’s importance cause when you have juvenile diabetes you might feel different from other children and so we want them to feel confident and empowered and know how to recognize the signs and symptoms of when they’re not feeling well, when their blood sugars are low or high and what to do about that.”

As for the younger kids, their parents are also welcomed to assist them during the camp and learn new ways to help them at home.

Anthony Castillo

“At the camp, parents are invited to come if they can with the children. Basically the camp is for the children to learn to cope with their condition, but we have some younger children who will need assistance from their parents and the parents can also learn. The parents form a support group among themselves and they share on the condition. So there are other things that need to be done with the child that at this time, because of the child’s age they would not be able to do it; the parents can learn the skill and then pass it on to the child at a later date.”

Delahnie Bain for News Five.

Anthony Castillo encourages anyone living with diabetes, particularly young people, to register with the association at their office on the second floor of the Commercial Center.