We founded the Association Cukrići – Zadar on April 7th 2015 in the city of Zadar, with the aim to bring together children living with diabetes and their parents from the area of Zadar County. The parents were the ones who came up with the initiative to establish the association, prompted by the growing number of affected children, but also to be of help to each other by getting together and sharing advice, support and experiences.
Our society often holds much prejudice against diabetes, which comes from not knowing enough about the condition itself. Unfortunately, while growing up, our cukrići can experience a number of situations in which they are met by inconsideration, lack of understanding, and sometimes even discrimination from their peers, teachers, acquaintances and institutions.
Our desire is to help change these attitudes – as much as we can – primarily on the local level but also beyond. We plan to organize excursions, educational courses and counseling to spread awareness about the challenges of diabetes, but also to better prepare our child diabetics for an independent life with this condition. Effective diabetes control hinges on good patient education, self-discipline and support provided by the family, general environment and health care system.
The fact that we live in the 21st century is certainly a mitigating factor, as we can expect that life with diabetes will become easier with technological advancements, development of new medical aids, successful research and introduction of improved or entirely new methods of treatment. We are already witnesses of new medical achievements in the field of better, more simple and painless diabetes control, and we expect to see even greater breakthrough achievements that will improve the quality of life for all diabetes patients. Perhaps, already in our lifetime, we may even reach the final goal – the possibility of complete healing.
However, until then, we have to live with diabetes in the best way possible.
We became members of the Croatian Union of Diabetes Associations (HSDU) Croatian Union of Diabetes Associations (HSDU).
