Esther Banyenzaki, director of Diabetic Journal (U) Limited, has been a Walk ambassador since 2023, devoting her life to raising awareness about diabetes amongst children and young people in Uganda.
Living with diabetes herself, Esther Bayenzaki has shown unwavering commitment to her community. Drawing from her own lived experiences, she shares a powerful message: ‘I am dedicating my life to creating awareness on juvenile diabetes with the specific target of keeping these juveniles in school’, she shares.
Esther organised her first Walk in 2022. Living with diabetes and a passion for educating others on the condition inspired her to be a Walk ambassador.
Organizing the first walk was no small feat. In November 2022, she started collaborating with a school, using the help of her daughters and their teachers to organise it.
‘Even when you don't have money to spend, you simply must find a way to get it,’ she explains. To overcome this, she used some of her savings to make branded t-shirts and aprons. ‘Every time they wear these items, a talk about diabetes happens. And that's good.’
She successfully made the event happen, despite limited resources. ‘The main tip that I can share is to work with already existing groups as this saves one lots of money and human resources.’ Esther adds.
The other tip she shares is to make the Walk simple and fun, and to reward the participants to keep them motivated. Our ambassador believes that a key to a successful event is to ‘give diabetes a human face’ and to ‘talk about it with hope as opposed to scary stuff’.
In fact, Esther recalls an experience she had with a teacher after sharing her story with the participants. Up until then, this teacher had the preconceived notion that diabetes was a condition for the elderly and was moved almost to tears when she told the participants that she ‘had pricked [her] body for over 42 years’.
Although she believes that it is too early to see big changes, Esther has seen a shift in the sentiments towards diabetes around her; with diabetes being talked about more in the school and communities where Walks have taken place.
In turn, the increase in awareness has translated to a better understanding of diabetes.
Esther explains that many of the young people participating in the Walks have diabetic parents and now have a better knowledge of the condition, including managing diet, administering medication, and dealing with mood swings. ‘We have better informed youths on the subject of diabetes’.
Through her relentless efforts and personal dedication, our ambassador has made significant strides in raising diabetes awareness.