This project is no longer ongoing
Salome dos Santos – Guyana
Diasweeties takes the form of an outreach programme which aims at raising awareness of issues surrounding type 1 diabetes. Every month, Salome uploaded a video to an online platform to discuss topics such as blood glucose testing, diabetes retinopathy, diabetes neuropathy, diabetes and ketones, etc. The project’s main goal was to educate people on the reality of diabetes, beyond its well-known myths, in two words: raise awareness. Salome realised that too many people have the wrong ideas about people living with type 1 diabetes and that is the reason why she decided to act on it. While she worked on the implementation of this project (to be launched in 2019), she participated and assisted her Diabetes Association in their activities.
Salome joined educational talks organized at the church to discuss diabetes and its symptoms, followed by a Q&A session. On July 15, she participated in an awareness-raising walk called “Walk for a type one warrior”. The event, organised by her Diabetes Association, involved members and external people who all had the same goal: educate the public on diabetes.
Walk for a type 1 warrior
On August 10, she took part in the “Caricom Outreach” within her association, a presentation which presented the participants (staff members and their children) with basic education on diabetes. The day after, she attended a “Tea Party”, an educational workshop dedicated to insulin administration.
The Caricom Outreach
In late September, Salome participated in the Caribbean Wellness Week, where she was present at a booth to educate people on type 1 diabetes. The activity was successful, since many people were receptive to the information they were presented.