Fun, freedom and friendship at Junior Camp
On the first weekend in April, 55 excited kids between ages nine and 11 living with type 1 diabetes arrived at Arrabri Lodge in East Warburton for the Diabetes Camps Victoria Junior Camp, accompanied by 40 dedicated health professionals and volunteers.
This year marks 70 years of Diabetes Camps Victoria, a program delivered by Diabetes Victoria in partnership with Royal Children’s Hospital and Monash Children’s Hospital.
Camps offer a life-changing experience for children and teenagers with type 1 diabetes.
Diabetes Camps Victoria Program Coordinator Natalie Logan says campers improve their diabetes self-management skills and challenge themselves to achieve new things in a fun, safe and supported environment.
“At this year's Junior Camp, all 27 of our campers on multiple daily injections achieved something new, including administering their own injection for the first time, or trying a new injection site,” Natalie says.
"Other campers performed a pump line change for the first time, as well as their own sensor change for the first time.”
Camps provide a unique space for young people to meet peers they can relate to and form a long-lasting peer support network.
“Many of our volunteers and health professionals also have type 1 diabetes and they are past campers themselves,” Natalie says.
“This introduces an element of peer support for adults living with type 1 diabetes and provides the opportunity for role modelling to campers.
“Camps also provide parents of children living with type 1 diabetes with respite for a few days from the constant caregiving demands.”
At this year’s Junior Camp, campers participated in a variety of campsite and team building activities.
“Our activities included archery, a flying fox, climbing wall, orienteering, games, and the highlight; our camp costume party,” Natalie says.
“Campers also had the opportunity to get up close to and learn about some special wildlife friends thanks to Black Snake Productions.
An important element of diabetes camps is education. Campers participated in a camper-led education session, where with the support of a health professional, they worked in groups to teach their peers and staff about an aspect of their diabetes.
“This session, along with our Q and A session, showed how knowledgeable, empathetic, supportive and emotionally intelligent our group of campers were,” Natalie says.
Camps have proven to be a vital component of type 1 management and provide a supplement to tertiary care, by enabling children and teens to interact with health professionals and learn in a non-clinical setting.
“Often, children have never met another person with type 1 diabetes and camps help them to feel less isolated and realise they are not alone,” Natalie says.
“We are celebrating 70 years of Diabetes Camps Victoria in 2024 and we hope to continue to deliver these camps for many years to come, as we have seen first-hand the immense impact this program has on all that attend.”
This year’s Junior Camp was fully funded by the National Diabetes Services Scheme.
If you would like more information about camps or our fundraising, please visit Diabetes Camps Victoria, or email us at camp@diabetesvic.org.au.
