Opportune October
Diabetes and mood swings can go hand in hand. Ashlesha & Sanskruti, both T1s, will talk about the reasons that could cause diabetes & mood swings as part of Project Gaia, where we aim to empower women living with diabetes. Register now for the workshop - open to all and share your experiences!
Here's a quick low down on all that happened during October 2021 at Blue Circle Diabetes Foundation.
Blue Circle Workshops & Events
Blue Circle Workshops are online weekend workshops that are free and open for all, even non diabetics! Join in, have fun and learn new things. Sign up as a member and follow our social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & YouTube to know of upcoming workshops. Be a part of our awesome Facebook community too!
Show your plate I Facebook Chat
Click here to read and participate in the 'Show you plate' chat thread on our Facebook community, Diabetes Support Network India where everyone shared pictures of their plate, exchanged recipes and more.
Announcements + Catchup I Facebook Live
Click here to view the video.
Project Gaia Workshop
At Project Gaia, our initiative is to create a safe space for women living with diabetes. We had a Clubhouse chat on Women and Diabetes in India. Click here to join us on Clubhouse. For those not in the know, Clubhouse is an audio based, social app (available on Android & iOS) where users can listen to & participate in conversations, kind of like a public, audio-only Zoom platform.
Diabetes & Festivals Workshop
Click the post below to read highlights from our workshop on how to manage diabetes during the festive season, by Rohan and Dr Anubhav, both T1s.
Diabetes & foot care I Facebook Live
Click the post below to see the Facebook Live from our workshop on diabetes & foot care. 'Like' and 'Follow' our Facebook page to get notified of more videos.
Meethi Baatein
Seventh Facebook Live of our series called Meethi Baatein to celebrate top contributors of our community on Facebook. Mouparna was in conversation with Shweta, see the video here.
In the News
Click the post below to read about the role of communities in diabetes management, featured in the Diabetes Health magazine.
Facebook Accelerator
Blue Circle Diabetes Foundation is proud to share that our Facebook community, Diabetes Support Network - India has been selected in the 2021 Facebook Community Accelerator from over 13,000 applicants for a program that helps leaders harness the power of their community to turn impactful ideas into action through training, access to new products and funding up to $50K USD from Facebook to help fund work that advances our community’s goals. We’re excited for the opportunity to learn, grow and scale our impact!
A big thank you to our fabulous diabetes community and our team who work very hard to make the magic happen everyday. This is the power of passion!
Diabetes Storytelling Lab
Thrilled yet again to be part of the winning solution that won $10,000. The Lab was organised by USAID, World Diabetes Foundation and Dalberg Media.
DCB Open Innovation Challenge
You win some, you lose some. Blue Circle Diabetes Foundation is thrilled to make it to the top 5 teams of the 2021 DCB Open Innovation Challenge in diabetes which was open to scientists, researchers, doctors, start-ups and communities as the only NGO and the only team from Asia. Our team was invited for a rigorous bootcamp in beautiful Switzerland in October. We didn't make it to the top 3 (oh well) but we learnt a lot, made friends and will continue to work to make the lives of people with diabetes better everyday!
Few snapshots from our trip-
Buddy Project Helpline
The Buddy Project is our mobile app based psychosocial helpline for diabetes and mental health. 12 trained volunteers (type 1, type 2 & caregivers), speaking 9 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)
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
Check out the adorable, diabetes inspired stickers and magnets from the Blue Circle Store and order them now!
Blue Circle Diabetes Calendar
A fun calendar featuring real, everyday heroes living with diabetes. Calendar 2022 coming soon - watch this space!
Blogs
Read our blog here. We write about everything from recipes to people's stories, technology and everything diabetes!
October campaign : #StrongerTogether
To participate in our social media campaigns, share your video or photo (with some supporting text) on the topic with us. Upload through the Blue Circle Diabetes mobile app and we'll feature you! Nupur launches our campaign for September and October, #StrongerTogether. Tell us how you feel the diabetes community has made you stronger.
Check out what Snehal has to say
Aarish is a real champ!
Sweet and strong Aaradhya
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 and Twitter too! If you would like to share and contribute content upload it to the Blue Circle Diabetes app 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