About AYUDA
In 1984, José Gabriel, a six-month-old boy in Quito, Ecuador, went into a coma and was diagnosed with
insulin dependent (juvenile) diabetes. Despite the efforts of his parents,
both of whom were physicians, they could not keep him healthy. His parents
spent most of the family's income on insulin, but eight years later
José fell into another coma. José's family once again
saved enough money to send him to the U.S. for treatment
where they soon discovered that a lack of ed
ucation
is equally as dangerous as a lack of insulin.
In 1994, two teenagers, Jesse Fuchs-Simon and Nick Cuttriss, inspired
by José's story, traveled to Ecuador and began a support group
for children with diabetes in the only space they could find, the hallway
of a public hospital. From these small beginnings,
two years later, they founded American Youth Understanding Diabetes
Abroad, Inc. (AYUDA) with the inspiration that as youth, they could serve as agents of change for other youth.
In the ten years since AYUDA was founded, it has become the driving
force for diabetes support and advocacy in Ecuador. AYUDA established
a national annual diabetes camping program, Campo Amigo Ecuador,
which just completed its seventh year in 2006, serving 99 children
and adolescents from 10 provinces. In total, Campo Amigo Ecuador
has hosted over 600 campers to date. It was also instrumental
in the development of a national diabetes organization in Ecuador,
the Fundacion Diabetes Juvenil Ecuador (FDJE). Over the past nine years,
AYUDA has provided over two million dollars in donated diabetes supplies
and professional medical services to the diabetes community in Ecuador.
To best assist local diabetes communities, AYUDA created a volunteer
program that brings individuals, who range from high school students
to world-class medical professionals to work at Campo Amigo Ecuador
or other educational and advocacy programs that AYUDA supports
abroad. After a competitive selection process, volunteers participate
in a formal training program that encompasses language, culture and
diabetes education. Volunteer training culminates by working at Campo
Amigo Ecuador , or in the respective program in the county where
they will be volunteering
.
To date, AYUDA has brought more than 130 volunteers to Ecuador through
this program. AYUDA is offering similar volunteer experiences in Bermuda,
Belize, Chile, and Mexico in 2006.
In 1998, AYUDA's educational workbook, Manejando la Diabetes (“Managing Diabetes”), was published by the Pan American Health Organization
and distributed throughout Latin America. As a result local diabetes
communities from all corners of Latin America began to ask AYUDA for
help. AYUDA responded by organizing the first annual international diabetes
youth leadership conference, Campo Amigo Internacional (CAI),
held in Lima, Peru in 2003 for nearly 50 youth leaders from 14 countries;
in 2004 the program was held in Santiago Chile, and in 2005 it was held
in Millville, Pennsylvania . As part of AYUDA's youth leadership initiative,
AYUDA created the AYUDA Leadership Awards to sponsor international
yout
h
participation in conference within the CAI Network. In the coming years,
AYUDA will expand its volunteer program to aid in the organization of
the diabetes community in other countries.
True to our motto, ¡ Juntos somos más fuertes ! (Together
we are stronger!), AYUDA's accomplishments would not be possible without
the help of our long-time collaborators: Children's Hospital Los Angeles,
the Pan American Health Organization, Insulin for Life, the Diabetes
Camping Association, Youth V enture, and the Fundación Diabetes
Juvenil Ecuador.
About
AYUDA
