Camp Katil for Children with Type 1 Diabetes

For the past 9 years AHABA has been working with Yeraz charitable fund of Armenia, AAMS (Armenian American Medical Society, headquartered in Southern California), the Muracan Children’s Hospital of Yerevan State University, and the Yeraz Foundation to improve the care of children with type 1 diabetes. There are currently 12,500 people in Armenia who receive insulin; 450 of them are under 16 years old. The total number of people with diabetes is officially reported to be 72,000. In Armenia, where health care capacity is inadequate, type 1 diabetes can be a death sentence for a vulnerable child. Unsatisfactory metabolic control, exposure to both severe hypoglycemia and chronic hyperglycemia, as a result of decreased access to self-care tools, results in stunted growth in children, adverse effects on neurological development, and increasing blindness, kidney failure, and cardiovascular disease in adulthood. The Ministry of Health of Armenia is currently providing diabetic patients with insulin free of charge. However, glucometers, test strips, syringes, and needles, are still not provided, even to children who are poor or disabled. We are collaborating with Yeraz and AAMS to develop sustainable initiatives to address these issues, as well as to lobby the Armenian government to find a long-term solution for patients with diabetes in Armenia.

Every summer since 2011 AHABA sponsored and helped to organize diabetes camps for 30-35 children from different regions of Armenia.  Your donations to AHABA provide a significant portion of the financial support for 35 low-income and underserved youth from primarily rural areas across Armenia to spend one week at the Yeraz summer sleep-away camp. In 2015, AHABA donated $2,500 to the camp in Arzni and for the first time this year, children under 16 were able to receive 2 glucose strips per day from the government free of charge. In 2019, our donation to the camp was increased, and we also purchased 20 continuous glucose monitors for the children to wear during the camp. 

The camp is about 15 km outside Yerevan on an estate with two grand buildings that serve as dormitories and classrooms.During the camps, children are offered education on insulin injections, carbohydrate counting, recognition and treatment of hypoglycemia, oral care and other important issues related to life with diabetes. Cultural and sports programs are also part of the diabetes camp. Through outdoor activities, music, and art classes the children make new friends and gain a strong sense of emotional well-being. Both parents and physicians at the camp agree that the children acquire greatly enhanced self-management skills and knowledge about diabetes. Our diabetes camps have been greatly appreciated by the children, their families, and local endocrinologists, indicators that our camps not only improve diabetes care but improve the children’s emotional status as well.