Meet the newest non-profit organization on the island, The Belize Diabetes Association – San Pedro Branch. The association was officially formed on November 15, 2011 and is currently seeking members to join the association.
The board of directors of the BDA- San Pedro Branch include: Mr. Pablo Sosa – Chairman, Atlantida Eiley – Vice Chairman, Hipolito Ruiz – Treasurer, Lina Hoare – Secretary and Executive Members include – Tresita Guerrero, Enoe Guerrero, Elenor Rosado, Rigoberto Kumul and Apolonio Reyes.
In an effort to generate funds for the newly formed San Pedro Branch, the Asscociation held its first fundraiser on Friday, December 23, 2011, with a bike raffle which was won by a visiting resident of Cayo District.
The association will be holding another fundraising event on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at Central Park where they will host a food sale from 10 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. This fundraiser will be one of the many activities which the group will be conducting. Funds are required so programs can be implemented to assist persons in the care and control of diabetes.
The San Pedro Branch will be attending a meeting in Belize City on Saturday, January 21, 2012 where all the associations throughout the country of Belize will meet. One of the main objectives of the Belize Diabetes Association is to have a branch in all districts so that persons living with diabetes can be assisted, especially those in need of the costly dialysis which is only offered in Belize City and Cayo.
The last statistics from the Ministry of Health indicates that 13.1% of Belize’s adult population is living with diabetes. Furthermore, the Belize Diabetes Association headquartered in Belize City has embarked on a project to identify children and young adults living with diabetes in the country. The age group targeted is between birth and 24 years old. The San Pedro Branch is also authorized to collect information on such children and young adult who may be living with diabetes.
The San Pedro Branch takes this opportunity to invite all island residents and businesses who are interested in becoming members or make donations to kindly contact Mr. Pablo Sosa at 624-8424, Mrs. Lina Hoare at 627-7755 or Mr. Rigoberto Kumul at 667-3373.
