AYUDA: A Diabetes Camp Volunteer Group
Lizette is an 11-year old camper, who has diabetes. She is small for her age, has cataracts, hearing problems and a troubled home life. At camp, when she arrived, her blood sugars were constantly in the rage of 300 to 400 range, one time, when it got her to 100s, she would come running up to the volunteer and tell them how much better she felt. She would then play with her friends.
All the volunteers could do was smile, sometimes so touched that they wanted to cry. By the end of camp, Lizette was already injecting herself and would draw her own insulin doses. She told me the organizers that she wanted to come back next year, and she was told that they would wait for her.
The volunteers are were passionately idealistic youth and health care professionals the world over. They raise money and give their time for the diabetes camp making it a a reality for children in developing countries. AYIDA has two full-time and one part-time staff members. All others, including the members of our Board of Directors and Advisory Board, are volunteers.
February 27 2008 05:04 am | Camp