Participants at the ‘Al Bawasil Summer’ programme.
Doha, Qatar: Several activities are still taking place as part of the annual ‘Al Bawasil Summer’ programme organised by Qatar Diabetes Association (QDA).
‘Al Bawasil Summer’ is an annual programme with recreational educational activities organized by the association for children with diabetes from the age of 6 to 16 years during the summer.
It seeks to provide multiple summer activities that give children great psychological and physical benefits that enhance psychological support and encourage them to play and engage in recreational activities to discharge their excess energy and help them develop social communication skills with their friends, peers, and supervisors. Generally, it helps children maintain good health by avoiding lethargy caused by sitting in front of televisions and playing electronic games.
Ultimately, the program aims to prepare this group with many skills they can use in managing diabetes and caring for themselves.
Dr. Abdullah Al Hamaq, Executive Director of the Association, said: “The Qatar Diabetes Association pays utmost attention to our children diagnosed with diabetes through several programs, including Al Bawasil Summer Educational Entertainment Program, led by (Al-Bawasil Camp for Children with Diabetes), which was established in 1999, and it is an annual international camp in which Arab countries, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and some African countries participate, and this year 2023 will be the twenty-fourth edition of it.
Al Bawasil Camp is a fun and useful vacation for children, as they learn how to rely on themselves about self-care to live with diabetes, as well as exchange experiences and information with their peers in a safe atmosphere and a loving and fun environment under distinguished medical supervision.
Dr. Al Hamaq added, “We are also working and striving at a rapid pace in the program (Rights of Students with Diabetes) within schools and in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the Primary Health Care Corporation and Sidra Medicine, where efforts are concerted with partners to ensure the health and safety of students with diabetes within the school.”
The Al Bawasil Summer programme contains several activities distributed over the summer months, and the first event organised was the (support and education of newly diagnosed with diabetes) on May 20, which contained a workshop on dealing positively with our children under the supervision of a certified practitioner of emotional intelligence and a workshop on calculating carbohydrates, which was dedicated to parents of children diagnosed with diabetes, and on the other hand, competitions and games were organized for the category of children themselves on the same day.
The children interacted energetically with the program and enjoyed healthy meals, prizes, gifts, and certificates of participation.
Al Bawasil also took a trip to Wow Park in Lusail Boulevard on June 21, where the children spent a wonderful time playing fun and entertaining games between huge trampoline games, climbing, jumping, ballroom, and other safe games that suit their ages.
Recently, 20 of Al-Bawasil youth participated in the Football Championship, a mini-football tournament organized by Qatar Diabetes Association in cooperation with Awsaj Center in Education City.
