Dr Abdulla Al Hamaq, Executive Director, Qatar Diabetes Association (third left) with other officials at the inaugural function of Al Bawasil International Spring Camp at Aspire Academy, for Sports Excellence in Doha. Pic: Abdul Basit / The Peninsula
The Al Bawasil International Camp for children with diabetes has made a positive impact on its participants and helped leading a normal life, says a senior official.
The Al Bawasil International Camp organised by the Qatar Diabetes Association (QDA) of Qatar Foundation, to create safe and loving environment for children with Type 1 diabetes in Qatar and the region and to teaches them how they can keep diabetes in control and how to avoid its complications in order to reach their full potential.
“The camp is a good opportunity to educate children with Type 1 diabetes to avoid complications and live and independent life,” Dr Abdulla Al Hamaq, Executive Director of QDA told The Peninsula on the sidelines of Al Bawasil International Spring Camp for children with diabetes that is taking place at Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence.
“In the previous camps we have been able to make a positive impact on the participants. We conduct surveys prior and after the camp and have noticed huge changes in the attitude of children about controlling diabetes and living a normal life,” he added.
A total of 60 children aged 7-11 from 12 countries, are attending the 17th Al Bawasil International Camp , which is the largest of its kind organised in the region. The camp brings together children with Type 1 diabetes from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for a week-long learning and activity-driven experience.
An official opening ceremony of the six day camp was held on Saturday with a variety of entertainment activities. The camp is being held under the patronage of H E Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani.
The participants at the camp are from Qatar, Morocco, Lebanon, Jordan, Sudan, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Oman and Iran.
The intensive programme of the camp is designed to create a spirit of cooperation and affinity among the participants through education, physical exercise and morale-building social activities and entertainment.
Al Bawasil International Camp first begun in 1999 only for Qatari participants and in 2000 it opened for GCC while the first international participants attended the camp in 2013.
“Since the beginning of the camp every year we see more children and now we use games to give healthy messages for the kids. We also we conduct workshops with games, to entertain and educate the kids,” said Dr Al Hamaq.
Collette Hayek Biton, a nurse who is accompanying children from Lebanon for the fifth time said, “Children benefit from the Al Bawasil to an great extend. A girl who came with me to the camp few years ago, got engaged recently and would get married soon. She learnt from the camp to take up life in a positive way.”
Educational activities of the camp include workshops that deal with diabetes and its management, such as insulin injections, dietary advice and psychosocial adjustment for those living with diabetes.
Additionally, the camp will incorporate simple sports activities with entertainment programmes where artistic and creative sides are explored. There will also be a number of visits to local recreational and cultural sites of interest in Qatar.
