The Happy Fund by Jake of SK8R Jake Walk Team

Very few people are familiar with the story of Happy George Matenje, at least I was until I read the book Young Voices. The book described the lives of children and young adults from across the globe living and dealing with Type 1 Diabetes. Happy’s story was especially touching because of the easily reversible tragedy it involved. Happy lived in a straw hut in Tanzania and her parents could only afford to have her blood glucose tested once a month at a clinic two hours from her home. Due to this lack of knowledge about Happy’s blood glucose levels and how different activities affected her, she fell victim to prolonged hyperglycemia and in the end died at the age of five. Most American diabetics take blood glucose testing for granted because we have easy access to healthcare and the necessary tools to keep us on the right track. But in developing countries like Tanzania, there is a shortage of medical supplies to ensure that diabetics live the healthiest lives possible.

In the fall of last year, I decided to start changing this problem, by developing the Happy Fund, in memory of Happy. With the help of JDRF, I spread the word about the fund. The goal was to collect usable and unexpired blood glucose testing supplies that could be shipped to African clinics and distributed to patients in order to facilitate the understanding and better treatment of type 1 diabetes. There was an amazing amount of donations from all three walks and a total of 135 blood glucose-testing kits were collected come winter. The next step to fulfilling my goals was top find a sponsor who would be willing to take on the cost of shipping the kits to Africa this year and in years to follow. I wrote to numerous celebrities and non-profit foundations that have a connection with diabetes relief or helping Africa. After six cycles of sending out my requests and information packets, Dikembe Mutombo, an NBA basketball star, responded with the intent of taking on the cost of shipping the supplies.

In early June of this year, I traveled to Atlanta along with friends and family to personally deliver all nine boxes of supplies directly to the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation’s headquarters. As of now, the supplies are being distributed to diabetic children within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) at the new Biamba Marie Mutombo Memorial Hospital, the larger project of Mr. Mutombo’s foundation. Although the first stage of this project has been completed, there is still much more work to be done. Next year the collection sites for the fund will be expanded beyond Maryland’s borders to Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Delaware. The Dikembe Mutombo foundation has also agreed to continue to support the Happy Fund and the struggle to control and eventually eliminate diabetes in Africa. You can also find out more about the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation at their website, http://www.dmf.org/ .