Our Diabetes Program Work

Marjorie’s Fund works to fill critical gaps in diabetes education and psychosocial support, improve healthcare access, and promote increasing economic self-sufficiency to ensure sustainable access to diabetes treatment and testing supplies. We actively collaborate with global and local community partners, as well as evaluate our outcomes, so as to identify opportunities to complement each others’ work and ensure our programs are appropriately tailored to unmet local needs.  Through these combined efforts we enhance the overall availability and impact of education, psychosocial support, and diabetes treatment supplies so that patients are empowered to thrive, not just survive.

Marjorie’s Fund develops and implements programs that focus on three areas: healthcare access, diabetes education, and economic empowerment.

 

Patient Stories

COLETTE, RWANDA

Aged 17, Colette was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2014 and completed the Marjorie's Fund Rwanda Diabetes Education Center program. Today, Colette walks an hour from her home to the town center to make a living sewing in the village market with a machine provided by Marjorie's Fund. She also keeps track of her insulin injections, finger sticks, diet, and physical activity thanks to help from Marjorie's Fund with a diary designed by us! Here she is pictured next to her home located a twenty minute walk from the roadside.
 

BIZIMANA JEAN PAUL, RWANDA

J. Paul is from Rwanda and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes five years ago when he was 14 years old.

When J. Paul was first diagnosed, his family was convinced that he was “contaminated” by external people and that his diagnosis was his own fault. J. Paul's family could not afford his supplies and stopped sending him to school out of fear of "contamination and death."

It took nearly two years for diabetes educators at the Rwanda Diabetes Education Centre (one of Marjorie’s Fund’s partners) to convince J. Paul’s parents that diabetes is not caused by contamination or negative outside influences.

Thanks to donations from our generous supporters, J. Paul successfully completed a six-month program at the Rwanda Diabetes Education Centre where he learned how to manage his diabetes through a curriculum focused on diabetes management, nutrition, agricultural practices, and vocational training. Through his vocational training at the centre, J. Paul learned how to bake, which had become his full-time career.

“My stay at the Rwanda Diabetes Education Centre changed my life. I no longer fear about the future or of dying soon.”

CLEMENTINE, RWANDA

Clementine was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes six years ago when she was 16 years old. Clementine told us how depressed she was over her high sugar levels (her Hba1c was 14 upon enrollment into the center). Clementine had injured herself by falling off of her bike due to vision problems related to her diabetes. The Center helped to stabilize Clementine's glucose levels, provide her with psychological support and she is being treated by an ophthalmologist.

Clementine's diabetes training and treatment at the Rwanda Diabetes Education Centre was funded by our generous donors.
 

ROBERT, UGANDA

“My name is Masereka Robert. I am a Ugandan aged 30. I come from Kasese district, Western Uganda. I was diagnosed with Diabetes Type1 at an age of 5 years. My parents were not aware of Diabetes condition and always thought it was malaria because then malaria was rampant in our community.

When I finished senior four, there was no money to push me for further studies but one time remembered what the European had advised me when I was young. I then started Diabetes Consultation Association (DCA).

We started looking for funds, but all in vain not even did the government help me. I got connection through my friend Johnson whom I had got on twitter and told him about my organization and told me had got for me a friend called Dr. Baker Jason who then supported me and DCA. Through his connection we received Marjorie’s Fund which enabled us get a refrigerator, Insulin, Syringes, Glucose meters, Strips, BP machines, Weighing machines, a laptop, internet bundles, paying office rent before obtaining the center, hiring a nurse from Kagando hospital to train, educate and give out medicine to patients, paying for a house that now has our center, projector, 5 acre land for demonstration and maintenance, Pipette, HBA1C machine as well as facilitation to attend seminars in Kampala.

I greatly thank Marjorie’s Fund of Dr. Jason Baker and Sandy for helping me and the organization at large because our lives as diabetic patients has improved very much as compared in the past. Recently I checked with HBA1C and the outcome was 5.6% which was very good according to the doctor.

Therefore I give endless thanks to Marjorie’s fund and its supporters. I pray and request that they should continue supporting us because from my experience as a diabetic patient I have learnt that Diabetes treatment is like ones daily meal.

My life is now better off. “LONG LIVE MARJORIES FUND”

Yours,
Masereka Robert
Director Diabetes Consultation Association