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VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 • JUNE 2013
DIABETES NEWS
SA JOURNAL OF DIABETES & VASCULAR DISEASE
T
he history of Youth With Diabetes’
camps for young people with the
condition goes back to the middle of the
last decade, when diabetes nurse educator,
Sr Hester Davel, from the Centre for
Diabetes and Endocrinology, and paediatric
endocrinologist, Dr David Segal, recognised
a need for them. “I had always wanted to
create a space for children with diabetes
where they could play, laugh, sing, paint
and just feel at one with each other,” says
Hester. “A place where they could experience
unconditional love and where everything
they needed would be available to them.
In addition, I wanted to raise awareness of
diabetes among children.”
The first camp took place in 2005. Today
they take place regularly in the major centres
all over the country – Johannesburg, Cape
Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, George,
Bloemfontein and Kimberley – as well as in
Botswana.
“Soon after starting the camps, we
saw the need for people to help us so
that we could run them more often. We
realised: who better than their peers? So
we developed a course: Diabetes Youth
Leader Training,” says Hester. “The first
national leaders training course was taken
Diabetes camps provide fun and education for young people living with
the condition
By Peter Wagenaar
Diabetes News
Young people undertaking fun activities at the Youth With Diabetes camp held in March at Camp Nelu, near
Magaliesburg. “They don’t let diabetes stand in their way,” says Sr Hester Davel.
A youth leader helps a child with their art therapy project
Two youth leaders on a camp
