Help Me Reverse Diabetes in Fiji

We live in a country that has one of the best healthcare systems in the world, yet millions of others struggle to receive even the basics of care. When you hear about this terrible inequality in the world does it trouble you? And is it hard to know what to do to make a difference?

This was me.

When I was given the opportunity to make a more powerful contribution to positive change, I jumped at it.

In just under two weeks I’m heading to Fiji with a team of doctors, nutritionists, dieticians and other naturopaths to bring public health to rural communities that desperately need it.

1 in 3 Fijians are diabetic. That’s 30% of the population!

And this is set to increase to 50% in the next 5 years unless something changes.

This is a massive problem for Fiji, and it breaks my heart because as a Naturopath I know just how easily diabetes can be managed and prevented inexpensively and non-invasively.

Most of us in Australia know someone with diabetes and most of them are either on medication or have access to the information they need to help manage their condition.

It’s not like this in Fiji.

Untreated diabetes doesn’t just affect blood sugar levels but can progress to eye disease, blindness, foot ulceration, kidney failure, amputation and a higher risk of heart disease.

So what can a Naturopath do to help?

LOTS!

While in Fiji I will be:

Conducting one on one nutrition consultations

Providing educational assistance and local talks

Identifying protein deficiency among school kids

Assisting in the prescription of natural protocols

Helping build nutrition and diabetes awareness campaigns

Designing fitness and exercise programs

Family health empowerment (house to house visits)

Village exercise programs

Healthy living advertising, marketing and administrative assistance

Natural detoxification programs

General healthy living programs.

The work we do now to help these communities will pass information on to the next generation, helping to break the diabetes cycle. Parents will pass this education on to their children, and children will have their grandparents around for longer.

I believe that we all have our own mission in life, a calling to give back to the community within an area where our skills are needed. That area could be the homeless or animals or the environment. For me it’s delivering healthcare to people who desperately need it, people who have lost hope. But I need your help!

Although we will be travelling on the cheap as best we can, these sorts of trips are still costly. These costs include airfares, accommodation, insurance, transfers and food- to name a few. I'm taking time off from my work for 3 weeks, which means I'm going to take a financial hit anyway.

This is where YOU come in.

I'm looking for $2000 to make this trip happen.

If we go over the expected total... AWESOME! I will use the funds to buy supplies for the communities and resources for the health practitioners to continue this program.

You will receive blow by blow updates on how your donation is spent.

The best place to follow along is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jessica.trethowan.naturopath

You will also receive a warm, fuzzy feeling, knowing that you have helped to bring health and hope to someone in desperate need.

If you can't afford to donate right now, I completely understand!! Instead you might contribute by sharing this page among your own network so that others more able to, can donate.

Thank you for your time, and your open heart!

Wish me luck!! Jess x