AYUDA 2024 Campo Amigo Program

Hi and thank you for your consideration in supporting AYUDA on my behalf! As you probably already know, I'm Alida! I'm currently a sophomore at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, and am excited to share with you that this summer I will be returning to the Dominican Republic (DR) to volunteer with AYUDA. If you have supported me in the past with AYUDA, then you know how much this program means to me. If you haven’t heard of AYUDA before, or aren’t familiar with my experience, I hope that you find this page reveals the importance of your help, and how you can help me make a difference as an agent of change for kids living with diabetes in the DR and globally. 

My first experience with AYUDA (American Youth Understanding Diabetes Abroad) was in 2018, when I traveled with my dad, Nick Cuttriss, to the DR as an unofficial volunteer. Even though I was only 11 years old, that summer (as well as the one after) had an incredible impact on me, and I am so grateful to be able to go back to work with the Dominicans and my fellow AYUDA volunteers. Last year, I applied officially to be a volunteer, and am so lucky to have gotten to experience the program again during the summer of 2023. Since I returned a couple of years older, I was able to view AYUDA with a fresh, more mature viewpoint, and I can conclude that it was simply a life-changing experience. For instance, I did outreach in local communities to see with my own eyes how and where many Dominicans kids with diabetes live, and also participated in their commute to Campo Amigo. I could go on and on about the trip's effect on me. We were also fortunate enough to visit the local doctor’s office and talk to some of the patients and medics there. Likewise, we toured Hospital Infantil Dr. Robert Reid Cabral, a children’s hospital in Santo Domingo. It was shocking to see the conditions of the medical center: there were hundreds of families waiting outside in the heat to see a doctor, and the inside of the hospital was also overcrowded and not air-conditioned. Their diabetes visits last less than 15 minutes on average and the hospital did not have trained professional staff to provide life-saving diabetes education support to the kids and their families. While AYUDA cannot make meaningful immediate changes to access to diabetes specialists, we can work with families to help address unmet needs for diabetes education and empowerment. The culmination of my experience last summer was participating in Campo Amigo, where I educated 0-8 year-olds about diabetes and planned interactive activities for them. Since first traveling to the DR, AYUDA has been a big part of my life, and I can't describe how excited I am to be going back. Everybody in the program was so kind, and I instantly felt like part of the AYUDA family... even as the youngest. 

Full disclosure, my dad co-founded AYUDA with his best friend in high school over 25 years ago. I never fully understood why he spent so much time traveling and volunteering until I could attend an AYUDA program in the DR and see with my own eyes. 

Before I continue, let me explain what AYUDA actually is, and what goals they have. AYUDA is a non-profit organization that has been offering life-changing educational and empowerment programs for children living with diabetes abroad for nearly 25 years. AYUDA uses an innovative peer-leadership model through which international volunteers (like me!) serve as catalysts to empower local youth living with diabetes to live happier and healthier lives with their condition. Together with AYUDA's in-country partner organization, AAV, or Aprendiendo a Vivir ("learning to live"), and my fellow volunteers, we will plan and implement community education initiatives, day-long diabetes outreach projects, and local capacity-building programs that motivate and support people of all ages with diabetes and their families. The current program, Campo Amigo, is a three week experience that collaborates with AAV to interact with and educate kids living with diabetes in the DR. It’s a leadership and learning opportunity for volunteers like me, and also a way to implement community education initiatives, day-long diabetes outreach projects, and local capacity-building programs. I'm so excited to return to the DR, and participate in incredible work that motivates and supports people of all ages with diabetes and their families. 

Something I really appreciate is that AYUDA places an awesome responsibility on its volunteers. By involving volunteers in multiple elements of the program, AYUDA provides hands-on experiences that inspire us to serve as agents of social change, not only in diabetes communities, but in other areas of our lives, as well. As a volunteer, I am immensely thankful for that. I love to know that I am making as big of an impact as I can, and knowing that I play such a significant role in helping teach these kids is so wonderful. We work together with local youth in the Dominican Republic to deliver culturally appropriate and effective programs that are specifically based on the needs of the community with an eye toward long-term sustainability.

AYUDA strives to remain a grassroots volunteer-based organization in a unique way: by asking its volunteers to contribute a major part of the costs to run AYUDA’s programs, including the sponsorship of local diabetes projects, through fundraising. Without the dedication of individual volunteers like myself, AYUDA would not be able to implement its programs to support local diabetes communities.

I’ll be returning back to the Dominican Republic this summer on July 6, but my journey begins today. Please consider supporting my work this summer and promoting sustainability with the amazing work AYUDA does by making a contribution. Your donation is tax-deductible and quick and easy to make online. Your support ensures that local diabetes programs will continue to thrive and that young people with diabetes in these communities will have access to education and tools that will help them live happier, healthier lives with diabetes. A donation of any size makes a difference and is greatly appreciated. 

Thank you!

As we say at AYUDA, “Juntos somos más fuertes” (Together we are stronger). 

Alida