Murrumbidgee Diabetes Association continues to branch out in Leeton
Support and a friendly ear crucial in living with condition
EDUCATIONAL: Noel Dewar, Allan Wynne, Harry Moses, Irene Clarke, Yvonne Peisley, Amarjit Singh, Tom Laing, and Alice Jayachandran attending a diabetes workshop at the Griffith Ex-servicemen's Club late last year.
WITH around 1.2 million Australian adults living with diabetes, the need for support is more prevalent than ever.
The Murrumbidgee Diabetes Association is a small group made up of people in the region with diabetes and it is now branching out its continued support of Leeton shire residents with the condition.
President David Mitchell said he had also been approached by several Leeton residents who were interested in starting their ow group.
"We do have several Leeton residents who come to our events and our functions and they have approached us about starting something similar there," he said.
"At the moment our group is for everyone, but if they want to do something specifically for Leeton, that's great as well.
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"We're definitely happy to help."
In 2014-15, the prevalence of diabetes among adults (based on self-reported data) was higher for men (7 per cent) than women (5 per cent).
There were 16,400 Australian deaths in 2015 due to diabetes, with more than half of these (55 per cent) due to type two diabetes.
"Unfortunately there are quite a few residents in Leeton with diabetes, especially type one diabetes," Mr Mitchell said.
"What we do as a group is offer support, but we also do our own fundraising to assist diabetes educators in the area, such as Marita (Pille) who works in Leeton.
"They can come to us and we can provide items they may need."
According to federal government data, diabetes deaths and hospitalisation rates were twice as high in remote and very remote areas than in major cities.
The Murrumbidgee Diabetes Assocation's next fundraiser will be a long lunch at Griffith Post School Options (the former Yoogali Catholic Club) on March 17.
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