August Adventures
Join our #BlueCircleWorkshops led by and for people living with diabetes, every Sunday, 5PM IST - free and open to all! This Sunday, Ramaa, 16 and Manisha, 24, both living with type 1 diabetes, will discuss the challenges faced by young people living with diabetes, how they tell people around them that they have diabetes and how they navigate the stigma and still remain ‘cool teenagers’. RSVP here to tune into their Facebook Live.
Apply to be an app beta tester!
We have been working behind the scenes, making a big revamp to our Blue Circle Diabetes mobile app, which is an app made ‘by’ and ‘for’ people with all types of diabetes. Come join the cool club of diverse Blue Circle Beta Testers. Read more about the Blue Circle Diabetes app:
See if you fit the eligibility criteria and apply now!
Have questions? Email: support@bluecircle.foundation
We have several upcoming events in the next few weeks, join us! Stay tuned for upcoming physical events in your cities & don't miss the chance to meet other friends & families with diabetes! Any questions? Ask away on our Facebook community, Diabetes Support Network - India and head to the 'Events' section on the group to RSVP for events you want to share or attend!
We share all important information and updates on our social media handles, so ensure you join our Facebook community , follow us on Instagram , Twitter , YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn. Here's a quick low down on all that happened in August 2023 at Blue Circle Diabetes Foundation.
We had 20 online and offline events in August 2023 - of which we had 16 physical meets in Pune, Kanpur, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Raipur, Bhilai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Udaipur, Chandigarh - see the photos below!
Glimpses from our offline meets
Our Pune friends clearly had a good time at the Blue Circle run/walk! Stay tuned to our Facebook community, Diabetes Support Network - India for updates in all cities.
Our Delhi friends having fun. Stay tuned for the next one!
More smiles at our Mumbai coffee catch up!
Looks like some fun was had at our Ahmedabad coffee catch-up!
Having a blast with dia-buddies at the Hyderabad coffee catch-up!
Friends from our Chandigarh coffee catch-up!
Friends from our Bengaluru coffee catch-up!
Friends from our Udaipur coffee catch-up!
Friends from our Bhilai chai pe charcha!
Friends from our Raipur chai pe charcha!
Friends from our Kanpur chai pe charcha!
Friends from our Chh Sambhajinagar (Auranagabad) chai pe charcha!
#BlueCircleWorkshops (online)
Blue Circle Workshops are online weekend workshops, led by people living with various types of diabetes. By the people and for the people with diabetes! These workshops are free and open for all, even non diabetics. We started these workshops in 2020 and have conducted over 200 educational, informative & fun workshops yet. Join in, have fun and learn new things. Sign up as a member and follow our social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn to know of upcoming workshops. Be a part of our awesome Facebook community too!
Losing a child to undiagnosed T1: Workshop
Nupur, who lives with type 1 diabetes was in conversation with Ranjit, dad to 8 year old Rushil who passed away in 2020 due to undiagnosed type 1 diabetes. Rushil was a bright and energetic boy who loved dinosaurs and cycling & wanted to grow upto be a paleontologist. Type 1 diabetes can happen to anyone, at any age, even children. Undiagnosed type 1 diabetes can be fatal & therefore getting a timely diagnosis is vital.
Read our blogs on DKA, why Ayurveda is not a solution to type 1 diabetes, neither is a pancreas transplant; however one can live a long and happy life with T1.
#BlueCircleWorkshops are free, online workshops on diabetes by and for people living with various types of diabetes. Join us every Sunday at 5PM India time!
Click the post below to view the workshop video on Facebook (you can also view on YouTube here) -
Dr Jason Fung's approach on type 2 diabetes: Workshop
Ajay Vikram Singh, living with type 2 diabetes & Vaibhav Veb Kumar (T2 in remission), discuss Dr Jason Fung’s approach of low carb, intermittent fasting etc for type 2 diabetes and how it helped them both effectively manage their type 2 diabetes in this workshop. Want to know more about low carb? Read all our low carb blogs and see our low carb playlist on YouTube.
#BlueCircleWorkshops are free, online workshops on diabetes by and for people living with various types of diabetes. Join us every Sunday at 5PM India time!
Click the post below to view the workshop video on Facebook (you can also view on YouTube here) -
Travel & Diabetes Chat Thread
Let's share our travel related experiences - what challenges do you face, any tips you'd like to share, for domestic/international travel? What changes would you like to make to your travel plans and in turn diabetes management? Any tips or tricks that worked for you? Any successes you might like to share with the community?
Tell us on our Facebook community, Diabetes Support Network - India. This was a Facebook group chat thread that you can read through here.
#BlueCircleWorkshops are free, online workshops on diabetes by and for people living with various types of diabetes. Join us every Sunday at 5PM India time!
Meethi Baatein
28th Facebook Live of our series called Meethi Baatein to celebrate top contributors of our community on Facebook. Ketki, living with type 1 diabetes, was in conversation with Vilas, who lives with type 1 diabetes as well. See the recording here.
Diabetes Awareness at schools
Blue Circle Diabetes Foundation organised three School Diabetes Awareness Programmes in Pune and Delhi.
On 3rd August 2023, we organised a School Diabetes Awareness Programme in Marathi as well as a free blood sugar screening at a public (government) school, the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Prathmik School, Kothrud, Pune. See below photos from the session.
On 4th August 2023, we organised a School Diabetes Awareness Programme in Marathi as well as a free blood sugar screening at a public (government) school, the PMC Vidyaniketan no 8 School, Kothrud, Pune
During the screening, no children had high sugars but some of the school staff had high blood sugars (previously diagnosed type 2 diabetes) and some just got diagnosed & were advised to seek immediate medical attention.
On 25th August 2023, we organised a Diabetes Awareness Programme in Hindi for school going children at Delhi based NGO Harmony House, which works for street children & kids of daily wage earner families.
Everyone, including young people deserve the right to good health. Kudos to our volunteers for organising this! Help make a difference & please get in touch with us on support@bluecircle.foundation if you would like to arrange similar sessions at your school or organisation.
We also train school teachers and support staff on not only the symptoms of undiagnosed type 1 diabetes (see this video with Ranjit, father to 8 year old Rushil who passed away due to undiagnosed T1) but also how to handle kids with T1 as well as tips for a healthy lifestyle and type 2 diabetes prevention for themselves. Let's make sure no child dies due to lack of a proper diagnosis.
In the news
The Hindu spoke with a few women with different types of diabetes, from our community (Nupur, Nishtha, Vandana and Suradha) and created a 3 part series documenting the different aspects of diabetes care for women in India. Read here, here and here.
In the Diabetes Health Magazine, Snehal discusses the importance of site rotation for insulin users. Read here.
Project Isha update
5 year old Raman recently got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes & is being taken care of by NGO Harmony House. His family will be supported with ongoing diabetes education via our Project Isha mentor.
Join our movement to ensure access to quality diabetes management for all! You can donate and/or volunteer. Read more about Project Isha. You can also donate here.
JDRF at Udaipur
Nupur & Snehal represented the Blue Circle Diabetes Foundation community, along with diabetes advocates from across India at the launch of JDRF's ImPatient Network Fellowship Program at Udaipur, Rajasthan.
We were most delighted to also meet with Princess Padmaja Kumari Parmar who is the daughter of the House of Mewar, the former royal house of Udaipur in Rajasthan and also lives with type 1 diabetes.
Over 3 days, we brainstormed over endless cups of coffee and insulin about how we could collectively work towards improving diabetes care and raising awareness in India. Stay tuned for updates!
Success Stories
Found the community helpful, have a success story to share? E-mail us on support@bluecircle.foundation and we'll be happy to feature you!
Letter for Schools
Whether newly diagnosed or not, it's an anxious time for parents of kids with type 1 diabetes. Please feel free to click this post on our Facebook community, Diabetes Support Network India which will take you to a downloadable and editable letter for schools. Edit it with your child's specific details and share a signed copies with the child's school principal, teachers, etc.
You are welcome to email us on support@bluecircle.foundation if you face any issues or you would like us to organise a diabetes awareness programme at your school or organisations.
See the post below for an important announcement regarding schools and universities. Click the post below, go to the comments section to read or download each circular issued by the NCPCR - National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
Buddy Project Helpline
The Buddy Project Helpline started during Covid19 and continues to be a diabetes & mental health support system & helpline, free of cost and open to anyone with any type of diabetes & their caregivers.
Read more about the helpline & to use the helpline, download the Blue Circle Diabetes mobile app on Android or iOS. Also read about the Blue Circle Diabetes app and all its features here.
The Buddy Project Helpline is our mobile app based psychosocial helpline for diabetes and mental health. Trained volunteers living with diabetes (type 1, type 2 & caregivers), speaking 7 different languages are here to listen to you without judgements. If you feel lost, depressed, anxious, panicky, suicidal or generally upset, please schedule a call with us. These are tough times but remember you are NOT alone, your community stands with you.
How to call the Buddy Project helpline
Image: screenshot of how to navigate the Buddy Project helpline on the app
Open the Blue Circle Diabetes app > Buddy Project > Schedule tab > pick a buddy of your choice > Schedule a call (once you schedule you'll see it under the 'Meetings' tab > 10 minutes prior to the call, you'll receive an app notification/reminder > To join the call, open the app, go to Buddy Project & under the 'Meetings' tab, press the 'Join' button (video is off by default, can switch on as per preference)
Why should you attend our meet-ups?
Fair question! Check out this post to know why-
Diabetes Humour
Life with any type of diabetes is not easy. Here's a little diabetes humour to brighten up your day. Click the posts below & like, share & comment!
Looking for a partner? Marriage & Diabetes
We understand that a lot of people with diabetes face tremendous difficulties in finding the right partner and getting married. We have received a lot of requests over the years to facilitate a platform to this end. Here's our small effort in that direction. If you'd like to find a partner, or are a parent who would like to introduce their child looking to get married, please introduce yourself on our private Facebook community, Diabetes Support Network - India.
Blue Circle Store- Relaunched!
Check out the adorable diabetes merchandise from the Blue Circle Store and order them now!
#FlipTheCalendar August 2023
Sound on and time to #FlipTheCalendar! The #BlueCircleDiabetesCalendar is a fun calendar featuring people living with all types of diabetes. Ft Nupur, who likes to run (away from problems ;p) & has had type 1 diabetes since 28 years🥇
Order calendars & adorable diabetes merchandise:
https://www.bluecircle.foundation/store
Blue Circle Blogs
Read our blog here. We write about everything from recipes to people's stories, technology and everything diabetes!
Donate
India's first app, made by diabetics & for diabetics. If you have found the app helpful & would like to help, consider making a small donation of Rs 99 per month: https://www.bluecircle.foundation/donate
Download the Blue Circle Diabetes app on Android and iOS. Click here to read about the app & its features.
Thank you to our wonderful community for helping us making the app better for you! We look forward to your generosity to help us rewrite the app ground up! Use the 'New Feature Idea' button on the app to tell us what features may make the app better.
#SugarDetective
Be a #SugarDetective!
Come be part of our new campaign! Help spread awareness by sharing hidden sugars in packaged foods. Like Sherlock Holmes said, "you see, but you do not observe". Let's observe what's in our food and share!
Put up posts on your social media platforms and use the hashtag #SugarDetective & #BlueCircleDiabetesFoundation (also tag us!) You can also share the post on our Facebook community, Diabetes Support Network - India. Once a week, we'll feature a randomly selected Sugar Detective across our platforms. Hurry!
Connect with us and participate!
Join our award winning Facebook community, like and follow our page, subscribe to our YouTube channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn too! Use the Blue Circle Diabetes app to track your vitals and don't forget to check out our website and Buddy Project helpline too!
SUPPORT BLUE CIRCLE DIABETES FOUNDATION
We need your help and support to continue to grow, expand and touch the lives of countless people in the diabetes community. Every little bit helps us in sustaining this endeavour. Our NGO is registered under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, India.
Click here to donate
