O.E.W.A has been a very successful organisation with membership of the elderly persons going to 1050 in a short period of 5 years.

The co-ordinator, Mr. Satish Lalji Shah, with his vision and the feedback from members has worked closely with the Croydon Health Authority to set up a Diabetic Clinic under OEWA. Dr. Bahrur is leading the project with the help of six volunteers. The volunteers are the core of the project in that, they are a link between the Diabetic team and the members. The Diabetic Team under Dr. Bahrur comprises of two dieticians, a diabetic nurse and two GPs. A very unique project, one of its kind in the country got under way in March 2001, after a lot of thought instilled during many meetings between the Health Authority and OEWA.

The main aim of the project is to make members aware of diabetes as a condition from all aspects of health and specially the importance of looking after oneself and the importance of monitoring oneself on a regular basis. With the incidence of diabetes increasing in the Asian community, there has been a need for such a project. The language barrier between Asian patients and doctors, the cultural myth about diabetics in the community and above all the understanding of the strict diet to be adhered to in order to control the blood sugars need to be addressed very seriously. Our aim was to hold informal meetings between members (some of them diabetics themselves, some are carers of diabetics and others who have diabetics in the family while others are there to increase their awareness and knowledge on the condition) and the health care professionals with the volunteer group as the steering force.

In March, about 120 members out of 300 OEWA memberships in South London attended the first meeting. Local dignitaries from the CHA, the Diabetic Association U.K. and the representatives from a pharmaceutical company together with the OEWA committee were present in the launch of the project. A team of six eager volunteers were all ready to get their teeth into the project. The volunteers present were Nila Shah, Surya Shah, Manju Shah, Dina Shah, Minaxi Shah, Dr Jayendra Shah and Nayana Shah.

We divided the members present into three groups and each group were headed by two volunteers. The first meeting was basically to encourage the members to address their understanding of diabetes in a very informal environment.

We were all delighted at the response from the members, and the interest the members created in a short space of half an hour. The buzz in the large church hall was magnificent which confirmed the fact there are gaps in information on the condition and understanding of the information given to diabetic patients by their health advisors.

The members found it much easier to ask questions in Gujarati and the informal environment seemed to take away the shyness of interacting from the members.

The response achieved from the first meeting was extremely positive. The meeting lasted for an hour and a lot was achieved. A delicious lunch was provided after the meeting prepared by our own hard working catering team of volunteers.

This was a stepping-stone for the project. The first meeting encouraged us to continue with the project. A month later, in April, a Gujarati speaking dietician, Parul Patel, gave a talk on Diet and Diabetes. A lot of information was given in Gujarati language and members felt very much at ease to ask questions later on. Once again, the meeting was followed by a lunch specially prepared to suit diabetic members.

The next meeting in May 2001 was another success story. We had a chiropodist from the local May Day Hospital, Mr Pradeep Solanki who spoke in Gujarati and English. The importance of looking after your feet, the importance of correct, well fitting comfortable footwear and above all, the importance of regular check-ups with a chiropodist were highlighted. Once again, the response from the members was excellent and they went home much more enriched with useful information. A delicious lunch was again provided after the meeting.

Dr Bahru himself conducted the next meeting in June. He spoke in English in very much detail on THE IMPORTANCE OF REGULATING THE BLOOD SUGARS in order not to have severe complications then and in latter life. He was very thorough and again, a lot of important information was given. His script in English was translated into Gujarati by two of our volunteers. It turned out to be a very successful meeting. We cannot stress the complications of uncontrolled diabetes in a better way than was described at the meeting.

At all the above informal meetings, the members have been very interactive and very keen. We have had a summer break and the next meeting is being organised. We are thinking of running exercise classes, holding workshops with pharmaceutical companies to advise on using the various monitoring machines etc.

OEWA is pleased to announce that after the success of this clinic in South London, a talk on diabetes was organised in North London on August 12th.About 350 members were present at this luncheon event which proved to be a success. OEWA is working on continuing this project for the benefit of its North London members.

The volunteers thank OEWA committee members, and together with the Health Authority to undertake such a task professionally and to wish them good luck for the future.