|
Bravas Dai Knea is Give and Take
The Second National Cambodian American Town Hall Meeting brings together over fifteen cities nation-wide to
take action on diabetes care and prevention
Above Photo: [left to right] Ms. Adele Gordan (Community Health Center, Inc.), Ms. Theanvy Kuoch (Khmer Health Advocates, Inc) and Dr. Lim Keuky (Guest Presenter from the World Health Organization) addresses an audience of Cambodian community members at the Community Health Center, Inc. in Danbury, Connecticut, one of the fifteen town hall meeting sites on December 2, 2009. Background screen is of the multipoint videoconferencing screen that was used to communicate with the other meeting sites during the town hall meeting. Photo courtesy of the Community Health Center, Inc.
With nearly five hundred attendees, fifteen videoconferencing and web casting sites and ninety-six individuals coming in by web cast, it is safe to say we successfully brought an entire national community together to take action around diabetes care and prevention on December 2, 2009. This was a hallmark occasion where over fifteen Cambodian communities nation-wide were connected over videoconferencing technology. With generous support from Polycom, Inc and HB Communications, Mr. Paul Ouk, KHA’s Technical Director lead the cumbersome technology effort. Mr. Ouk tirelessly worked with any community who wanted to participate in the meeting - get connected. Some meeting sites came in seamlessly by a strong T1 line while others came in by a wireless connection from remote rural areas. As a result, community members from the farms of Houston,Texas to people from the metropolitan Chicago area interacted with one another. Dr. Lim Keuky from the World Health Organization facilitated and engaged members in a two hour long discussion about how diabetes can be cared for and prevented. His central message was Eat, Walk, Sleep for Health and helping one another to do just that - bravas dai knea.
Community Telethon Proves to be a Successful Way to Promote Diabetes Messages among Cambodians
[Image Above: Telethon Announcement in Khmer]
"Chumreap sour," is a Cambodian greeting many volunteers used while calling family and community members in the month of November. What was the message? The key message that community volunteers promoted was "go see your doctor because too many of our brothers and sisters are dying from diabetes."
Approximately seventy-nine volunteers participated in this nation-wide effort to promote diabetes awareness during Diabetes Awareness month. The National Cambodian American Diabetes Project (NCADP) hosted 10 community telethons in five cities and with the help of trained volunteers, we made over 1,200 phone calls to community members across the country.
Along with encouraging health utilization, volunteers were asked to remind people to get their flu shots, especially if they were diabetic. They were also trained to promote diabetes awareness month and how to get information on diabetes in the Khmer language.
This idea emerged from our goal to engage the community to help with diabetes promotion. From the start we knew our biggest resource was the community and these community telethons were one of the many efforts NCADP has implemented to effectively reach the community with diabetes prevention and control messages. To learn more about the Community Telethons, please email us.
"I give back my appreciation for what I learned...
An interview with Tey Moeun, as she answers questions about being a Community Health Leader in the Metropolitan Chicago area.
NCADP: How long have you had diabetes?
TM: A long time… since my third child was born. I don’t remember what year. With four kids, I have become very forgetful. I have a lot of health problems.
NCADP: How did you know you have diabetes?
TM: My dad died from diabetes - stroke. The doctor checked my sisters and I for diabetes because they said diabetes passed on in families. My dad did not need to die. He was moved from one hospital to another. They told us that he was too sick and needed more help than they could provide. We did not have help in Wisconsin back then. There was no one. No Cambodian organizations to help us or help encourage us. The day my dad died, was when I found out I had diabetes.
NCADP: Why do you want to help as a community health leader?
TM: I was very sick. My brain was broken into many pieces – I was going crazy. I was angry a lot. I jumped every time I heard my son's name. It felt like my arms and leg would break from nervousness. He is a solider in Iraq. I could not sleep or eat, which was not good for me. I felt dizzy, [had] headaches everyday for five years. My disease [diabetes] made my eyes burn. Tears fell all the time. My legs fell asleep a lot. I would rub menthol to massage my legs to wake them up. I was sick with so many things, until [Young sister] Kathy came to see me at my house and asked me to join a group. She taught us about diabetes. I learned to walk and dance. We walked with the [Buddhist] monks at the temple… doing meditation. The program helped me meet other Cambodian women who are just like me. We are staying friends now. Now that my body has changed, everything is back to balance. I want to help so that we [Cambodians] can move forward. If I can help us to move forward, look to the future, work, get healthy, I want to do that. Not many people know about diabetes… but people can learn to follow what I learned.
NCADP: Now that you feel healthier, you want to help others, correct?
TM: Yes. I give back my appreciation for what I learned by becoming a community health leader. I want us [Cambodians] to move forward.
NCADP: What are some things you do to stay healthy?
TM: I follow what [young sister] Kathy taught us. Eat right. If I eat bad food, my body will know it. I did not sleep and now my doctor helps me with my sleep. I take medication every day. I move my body [exercise]. If we don’t do anything… keep still, our bodies will stay the same. The diabetes will stay still. But if you move, start to do things, it will help your diabetes.
NCADP: Do you think that there’s a connection between diabetes and mental health?
TM: Yes. Everything is connected... it [mental health] is part of my body… it is together. I take control of my diabetes and my stress and depression. This is an important part of this program because I use to be so angry. Not like I am now. When my blood sugar is not balance, I became so angry. No one wanted to be near me. I learned to control my blood sugar and be calm. I go see a doctor for my stress and depression every other month.
NCADP: What do you do to help other Cambodians learn more about diabetes?
TM: I pass out the paper about diabetes to people I know. I help [young sister] Kathy. I tell people to follow what I learned. I hope that they will listen. Some people do not believe me, but I still keep on telling people about what I know. I keep telling them because I know what I say is true.
NCADP: How many people have you talked to about diabetes?
TM: Everyone that has diabetes; anyone who would listen.
NCADP: Can you tell us about a specific story about someone you helped?
TM: I told a man to go fishing! A man in Wisconsin… not here. [Laughs] He was very sick and he did not leave the house. He didn’t do anything and I said to him, “if you like fishing, go fishing!” I told him to move his body and get out of the house. I told him, to go to see his doctor and check his blood sugar twice a day. He is doing so much better now that he went to see a doctor and is taking his medicine. He told me he that checks his blood sugar everyday and is still fishing.
NCADP: Is there anything else you would like to tell us?
TM: Keep this program going - it does work! I can say it is the best way to teach and encourage our community to keep each other aware [of diabetes] and keep our health strong, from our young to our elders. Thank you for helping me. I can tell people what I know.
Tey Moeun is a 46-year Cambodian woman who arrived to this country as a refugee in 1980. She was ten years old when the country fell to the Khmer Rouge Regime and she is a survivor of the Killing Fields. Currently she lives in Chicago and is one of the thirty trained community health leaders who are taking action to prevent diabetes and diabetes complications. This interview was conducted in Khmer and English. Special thanks goes to Kathy Reun for her work as a community health worker and encouragement of her community members to help one another. This success story was made possible because of Kathy and the countless community leaders who have worked hard to get the message about diabetes to our community.
| 
To update/change your account click here 
