Posts

Camp Mukundi: Where Health Education Met People Where They Are

Image
Camp Mukundi, random session I have attended and led a number of camps from 2019 to date, but Camp Mukundi was exceptional in a number of ways. It was different by design. It emphasised meeting people where they are, listening before teaching, and making learning practical and participatory. Unlike many health camps we have organised in Zimbabwe, which tend to follow a more formal model dominated by slides and presentations, Camp Mukundi created space for conversation, practical learning, reflection, recreation, peer connection, and—most importantly—the voices of the people actually living with these conditions. As one of the camp co-leads, one of the things I particularly appreciated was the approach we took before any session with an invited speaker or facilitator. We first asked participants what they wanted to learn, what they wanted to be told or advised on, what questions they had, and what they expected from the camp. Their responses were documented and used to guide facilitator...
1 comment
Read more

Living Well with Diabetes: Empowering Communities Through Education, Support and Action

Image
Kadoma Diabetes Workshop, March 2026 Knowledge is one of the most powerful medicines available to people living with diabetes. While insulin, glucose monitoring and regular clinical reviews remain essential, the ability to understand the condition, recognise warning signs, make informed decisions and seek timely support often determines whether someone merely lives with diabetes—or truly lives well despite it. On 28 March 2026, the Diabetes Clinics at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and Sally Mugabe Children's Hospital, together with healthcare professionals, diabetes advocates and community partners, brought this vision to life through a comprehensive Community Diabetes Workshop held at Kadoma General Hospital. The workshop brought together children, adolescents, young adults and adults living with diabetes, caregivers, healthcare workers and community members for a morning dedicated to practical learning, open dialogue and peer support. Rather than focusing solely on medical info...
Post a Comment
Read more

Empowering Families Living with Type 1 Diabetes

Image
Group photo, 20 June Diabetes Workshop When a child or young person is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, the diagnosis often comes with uncertainty, fear, and countless questions. Understanding the condition, learning essential self-management skills, and finding a supportive community can make all the difference in transforming that fear into confidence. With this vision in mind, Sally Mugabe Children's Hospital and Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals Diabetes Clinics successfully hosted a comprehensive Type 1 Diabetes Education Workshop on 20 June 2026 at the UNICEF Zimbabwe Offices in Harare. Designed primarily for newly diagnosed individuals living with type 1 diabetes and those who had not previously attended structured diabetes education, the workshop brought together approximately 80 participants, including children, adolescents, young adults living with diabetes, parents, caregivers, and family members. They were supported by a multidisciplinary team of 15 facilitators, comprisin...
2 comments
Read more

Inside Sanofi’s Insulin Manufacturing Campus

Image
Group Photo: Members from LMICs: Nov 2025 I had the rare privilege of touring Sanofi’s Insulin Manufacturing Site in Frankfurt, Germany—an immense industrial campus located within the historic Industrie park Höchst. Organized by the Sanofi's Global Health Unit (GHU), the visit offered an extraordinary behind-the-scenes view of how insulin is engineered, produced, assembled, tested, packaged, and shipped to over one hundred countries around the world. This was not simply a factory tour. It was an immersive exploration into a century of insulin innovation, a sophisticated manufacturing ecosystem, and the evolving global strategy intended to expand access to life-saving diabetes medicines—especially for low- and middle-income countries. Inside The Insulin Manufacturing Plant Below are my reflections, insights, and key takeaways. I share them not just as a visitor, but as a person living with type 1 diabetes, an advocate for access, and a representative of communities that still strugg...
Post a Comment
Read more

Diaversary: 15 Years of Becoming

Image
Fifteen years. That’s how long I’ve been living with type 1 diabetes. ISPAD 51st Conference, 2025 I was diagnosed three days after Christmas in 2010 — a season meant for joy, abruptly rewritten by hospital corridors, insulin vials, needles, fear, and questions no family is prepared to answer. Life didn’t pause to let us catch our breath. It demanded adaptation — immediately, relentlessly. Diabetes didn’t knock. It arrived and stayed. 3 days before diagnosis, 2010 For many years, survival was the goal. Learning how to inject. Learning how to eat. Learning how to calculate, correct, and carry on. Learning how to live with a condition people rarely see but constantly misunderstand. There were highs and lows — physiological and emotional — and a quiet, exhausting weight that came with having to be vigilant every single day. Diabetes was personal. Private. Heavy. Then came 2019 — the turning point. Nine years after diagnosis, a call was made. An advocacy training camp for two participants l...
2 comments
Read more