Shahd Alhamdan
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — The International Diabetes Care Center (IDCC) at Prince Sultan Road here hosted an event for schoolchildren Saturday morning.
At the event entitled "I can prepare my own lunchbox", celebrity chef Khalid Arif taught children with diabetes how to prepare their lunchboxes in a healthy way and how to count the carbohydrates in their meals.
The IDCC is the first diabetes center in Jeddah that deals with the condition in a holistic fashion. Speaking to Saudi Gazette, a member of Diabetes Support Group and founder of the IDCC, Wid Hussein Alharthy, said the event targeted diabetic children and the purpose was to make them believe in their own skills to prepare a healthy lunchbox and depend on themselves to count the carbs.
According to Alharthy, some of the event goals were getting diabetic children together to boost their morale and to make them feel they are part of a group. “They relate to each other and feel confident dealing with diabetes,” said Alharthy.
“We will teach the children how to be in control of their condition and feel positive about it. In addition, this will show the entire family how to eat healthy. Parents always leave the center happy and proud of their children, believing that diabetes is not a disability,” she added.
This was not the first event organized by the IDCC for children. The organization has been holding special events and campaigns to teach children how to lead a healthy, normal life. One of these campaigns took place in Ramadan.
Thirty children aged between 9 to 12 years took part in that campaign, which taught them how to make healthy choices regarding their health and lifestyles.
The kids, half of them boys, were involved in the program for three hours everyday during Ramadan. The children learned how to prepare healthy meals for themselves and learn about exercises to maintain themselves and have healthier lifestyles.
