HOPE offers Diabetes Holiday Cooking Class in rural New Mexico

“Getting through the Holidays on a Healthy Note!”

Project HOPE New Mexico in collaboration with our partners, New Mexico Department of Public Health (NMDOH), Luna County Health Council, PMS Deming Health Center and the Luna County Extension Office, hosted a diabetes cooking class to help educate residents on how to prepare a diabetes-friendly holiday meal.

With all the traditional sweet foods and holiday gatherings, the holiday season can be challenging for people with diabetes and their families. The goal of the HABITS for Life program is to educate and offer alternative strategies for eating healthy. HOPE and its partners realized the need for offering a class that can get people “Through the Holidays on a Healthy Note” and worked together to coordinate this event.

Residents, partners and HOPE representatives gathered around the kitchen for the diabetes cooking class and also had an open discussion about managing Holiday stress at Bethel Baptist Church in Deming, New Mexico on December 3rd. Men and women were taught how to make lasagna, salad and a traditional Mexican bread pudding known as capirotada, using healthy options.

The event was extremely successful and appreciated by those individuals who attended. One male resident said, “This is such an important class because being a care giver for my wife who has Type 1 diabetes, ….. I ran out of ideas of things to make my wife. I cook for her every single day, all meals and this was delicious…. I am so glad that I came.”

Story and photos submitted by Trudy Gallegos BCH, MA. Trudy is Project HOPE's Health Educator and Outreach Supervisor for our new Habits for Life program in New Mexico.

HOPE Mexico Recognizes World Diabetes Day

On Sunday, November 14th Project HOPE participated in a World Diabetes Day event in Mexico City. Gathering in front of the Angel of Independence, thousands celebrated the importance of an active lifestyle, including activites such as biking and dancing, to prevent and control diabetes, obesity and related health problems. Promoting awareness is a priority for the Ministry of Health (MOH); Mexico has the second highest global obesity rate and diabetes is the leading cause of death nationwide.

Thanks to a donation from Johnson & Johnson Project HOPE offered free blood glucose screenings, using a traffic light to help people interpret their results.

Project HOPE also donated 20 One Touch glucose meters and 5,000 test strips to the Mexico City Department of Health Promotion. Vice Director Monica Huerta thanked Project HOPE for its generous support and leadership during the event.

Working with “peer educators” -- people living with diabetes who have been trained by Project HOPE to educate and inspire others -- the organization will continue to raise awareness and offer screening in public spaces year-round.

Better access to screening and education is key because early detection and good self-management helps to prevent or delay complications and raise quality of life.

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The International Diabetes Federation is lighting virtual candles to “Bring Diabetes to Light.”
In Honor of World Diabetes Day, Help Support Project HOPE's Health Education Programs Around the Globe.

World Diabetes Day in India

On the evening of November 13th, leading up to World Diabetes Day, New Delhi committed to lighting up 50 monuments and buildings across the city in blue. Blue is the official color of World Diabetes Day, symbolized by the blue ring, and this effort to collaborate to turn the city blue demonstrated India’s commitment to fight the rising tide of diabetes in the country.

Project HOPE's, Senior Vice President of Stuart Myers, Program Manager Dr. Sonia Kakar, Program Officer Charlotte Block and our guest Aileen Knip, the chair of the Canadian Diabetes Association attended the lighting at Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple. Also in attendance were notable corporate donors, doctors and the Danish Ambassador to India, H.E. Freddy Svane and his family. Mr. Myers and Ms. Knip gave short speeches after which, at the appointed moment, buttons were pushed at each of the appointed monuments, bathing them all in a blue light. After this ceremony, 50 lanterns were lit in the temple courtyard and rose up into the night sky.

Attendees adjourned to the Russian Center to watch the movie premier of a film called Sankalp, about the challenges three children face with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Sankalp is a Hindi word that means “a promise one makes to oneself.” In this case, the children promise to take control of their diabetes management and live long and healthy lives.

Story and photos by Project HOPE's Charlotte Block,MS, RD, Program Officer - Global Health Chronic Disease/Nutrition,who spent World Diabetes Day visiting HOPE program sites in India.

In Honor of World Diabetes Day, Help Support Project HOPE's Health Education Programs Around the Globe.

India Diabetes Educator Project – Master Trainer Refresher Course

Since 2007, Project HOPE in cooperation with the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has been implementing a diabetes educator project throughout India. India, which carries the largest case burden of adults with diabetes, has traditionally lacked medical professionals to fill the important diabetes educator role. Through the India Diabetes Educator Project (IDEP), Project HOPE is helping create a strong force of diabetes educators to help patients with diabetes learn self-management skills to live long and productive lives. Participating health centers throughout the country nominate nurses and dietitians to be trained as Master Trainers. The graduates then teach other health care workers in diabetes self management education (DSME) through a six-month distance learning approach.

In the days leading up to the World Diabetes Day celebration in New Delhi on November 14th, Project HOPE, with assistance from IDF and Canadian Diabetes Association diabetes educators, hosted a “refresher” course for the Master Trainers. Enthusiastic nurses and dietitian trainers came to New Delhi from participating health centers across the country to hone their diabetes education skills. They heard expert presentations about motivational interviewing, behavior change theory, the Conversation Map® approach, and role playing case studies. The Master Trainers will carry this knowledge back to their health centers and passing these new skills to their diabetes educator students, thus expanding the reach of DSME across India.

Story and photos by Project HOPE's Charlotte Block,MS, RD, Program Officer - Global Health Chronic Disease/Nutrition,who spent World Diabetes Day visiting HOPE program sites in India.

In Honor of World Diabetes Day, Help Support Project HOPE's Health Education Programs Around the Globe.