Fundraising project supports children in Kenya

Two girls attending the monthly session at the DMI Centre in Nairobi.

Providing for four children on only one income is a challenge in itself. Adding Kenya’s challenging health care system and a diabetes diagnosis to that, the challenge becomes almost insurmountable.

In June 2007 a group of delegates from the Diabetes Summit Africa, held in Nairobi, visited the newly established diabetes clinic at the Naivasha District Hospital. Here, they saw children who had been brought in from the valley in a serious health condition due to type 1 diabetes. Their parents had abandoned them because they could no longer support them at the same time as providing for the remaining family. So they left their child to be catered for by the hospital where they knew that food and insulin was assured. Unfortunately, the heart breaking dilemma these parents faced is far from unique.

The story of these children ignited the wish of Novo Nordisk A/S employees to do something, and this is how the fundraising project to support 25 children with diabetes in Kenya came about. The World Diabetes Foundation has facilitated the contact to its experienced and trusted partner, the Kenya Diabetes Management & Information Centre (DMI Centre), who will implement the project. The project began in July 2008 and is already helping children with diabetes and their families.
 

The most disadvantaged

“When selecting the 25 children to be supported under this project, we first look for information in the hospitals or in the schools. The common denominator for all of them, is that they are the most disadvantaged and therefore most prone to not receiving their insulin regularly,” explains Ms. Eva Muchemi, Programmes Director at the DMI Centre.

Every month a joint session is organised where the children come to the DMI Centre to get health check-ups and guidance on self-management. At every monthly visit they receive a package with insulin and syringes, testing strips and urinestix for the whole month as an incentive to come back the following month. “But it is much more than just the package. The joint session for children and parents gives them a common ground. They can come back to the DMI Centre at any time, and they can consult and support one another because they are no longer alone,” says  Programme Coordinator, Ms. Hanne Strandgaard from the World Diabetes Foundation who recently visited the project.

Josephine

One of the 25 children selected for the project is Josephine Wanjiru Mbugua. She is thirteen years of age and was diagnosed with diabetes three years ago. Complaining of severe headache, her mother took her to a local hospital clinic where she was first diagnosed and treated for malaria. This worsened her pain. On the third day, she was taken to Kikuyu Hospital where she was diagnosed with diabetes and admitted with very high sugar levels. She stayed in the hospital for a week until the sugar levels stabilised. Josephine has since learned to manage her diabetes. “However,” says Ms. Eva Muchemi “the problem arises when she has no insulin and often times she struggles to get it. That is why we included her in the project. She is a very bright girl and with consistency in insulin supply she can perform better.”

Josephine is the youngest of four children and she lives in the outskirts of Nairobi. Her father, Mr. George Mbugua Kamaara, is unable to work for a living because of a nerve condition. “It was hard for me to afford the hospital bill. I had to look for money from friends. I am the sole breadwinner of the family, and sometimes it is hard to meet the basic requirements to survive,” he explains.

13 year old Josephine Wanjiru Mbugua just passed her first national exam.

From burden to role model

In the struggle to make ends meet, children come to feel like a burden for the rest of the family. When visiting different children’s homes Ms. Eva Muchemi has seen many sad children: “One child had been told by his father that buying his insulin cost them all the money the family had. And since that money was supposed to take care of the rest of the family, the child with diabetes felt like a burden.” Therefore, when helping to provide a child with insulin and medical check-ups, it takes away a heavy burden and frees resources for other activities. It helps improve the welfare of the whole family and it creates a better relationship among the siblings as they will not feel deprived because of the expenses related to diabetes care.

Josephine has accepted diabetes as part of her life to such an extent that she has become a role model for others who have diabetes. She has talked about diabetes in media stations and in school and has been monitoring her sugar levels properly. Her proactive attitude stood out when she changed to a boarding school recently. Rather than seeing the new environment as a problem, she simply taught her new teachers and classmates about diabetes, so they know how to act in case of an emergency.

Reaching the moon

“Once children get the proper information on how to manage and live with their diabetes, there is nothing they cannot achieve”, says Eva Muchemi. Her favourite slogan used by some of their youth groups reads “Give me information – and I can reach the moon.” And the change is evident when kids have information. “Some of those whom we picked up in the clinics are now in university. At first, they had difficulties coping with their condition, but once they overcome that, they turn into role model kids.”

Hope for a better future

Ms. Hanne Strandgaard came back from the visit impressed with the steady work done for the families of children with diabetes. “This project will become significant both short term and long term. At the DMI Centre the children have a place where they can be themselves, free from stigma and full of understanding and professional guidance. Moreover, the parents find support in each other and they know that their children are given good care. When part of the project, there is no need to worry. Rather, there is reason to dream about a better future,” she says. 

The funds used in the project are the result of the Novo Nordisk TakeAction! programme, an employee volunteer programme where employees raise funds by taking unique initiatives or donate a monthly amount from their pay check to support specific projects.

Read more about the project

See the film "Caring for Kenya"