AYUDA 2026 Campo Amigo Program

Hi, it's Zora! Nearly six years ago, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. At the height of the pandemic, this disease seemed insignificant in comparison with COVID-19. However, for my life, it was not insignificant. I suddenly had to keep track of everything I put into my body, from the carbohydrates and sugars that could easily spike my blood sugar to the insulin I now had to inject. I had to understand what high and low blood sugars were, how they made me feel, and their dangers. I had to mature faster than my peers with this new diagnosis and be responsible for my own health. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I never really felt part of the diabetes community. Navigating diabetes was hard enough, but I also felt overwhelmingly isolated due to this new condition. I attended online meet-ups and got involved with diabetes organizations virtually, but it just wasn’t the same as forming face-to-face connections. Last year, AYUDA came into my life and finally gave me a supportive community and meaningful connections.

Though I like to consider myself an expert on Type 1 diabetes, volunteering with AYUDA taught me countless new lessons about my condition. I was able to see that diabetes is truly a different condition in other countries, from the way it is managed to the stigmas and discussions surrounding it. Mentoring and forming relationships with younger kids living with diabetes was an invaluable experience. Engraved in my memory is a young girl coming up to me, her face lit up when she saw my Dexcom, beaming as she pulled up her sleeve to show me hers. These connections, rooted in the shared identity of living with Type 1 diabetes, make AYUDA such a special community.

I am overjoyed to share that this summer, I will be returning to volunteer with AYUDA in the Dominican Republic. 

A little bit about AYUDA: AYUDA uses an innovative peer-leadership model through which international volunteers 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, 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. 

AYUDA endeavors 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, AYUDA would not be able to implement its programs to support local diabetes communities.

I will be traveling to the Dominican Republic on July 18th, but my journey begins today. Please consider supporting my work this summer and 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 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.