BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, November 28, 2023 (MMS-SKN) -- As November, which is observed globally as the National Diabetes Awareness Month, comes to an end, the St. Kitts Basseterre Lions Club joined sister clubs in Zone 2C (Antigua, Dominica, and St. Kitts) to raise diabetes awareness through an early evening Diabetes Glow Walk on Saturday November 25.
Held under the theme ‘Changing the Face of Diabetes’, the Basseterre walk saw participants carrying glowing light tubes and wearing glowing necklaces and armbands gather at the Cenotaph in Fortlands. After prayers by President of the St. Kitts Basseterre Lions Club, Lion Adaeze Hanley, they set off for downtown Basseterre at 6:28 p.m.
“We normally do the ‘Journey for Sight’ walk, which is a day-time event with the blind and all of that, but this time the idea came up from the Zone, for the clubs in the Zone to do it in the evening,” observed President Adaeze Hanley. “It would have been challenging to have other persons - the visually impaired persons as part of it. So what we have is just the members, and friends participating this evening.”
Among the participants were Vice President Lion Cedric Liburd; Past President and Diabetes Associate Chair for Region 2, Lion Adora Warner; Past President and Past Zone Chair, Lion Bernadette Dolphin; Past President Lion Patricia Farrell; Past President Lion Merle Liburd; Past Vice President, Mr Ellamorrow Levy; and Past Treasurer Lion Marsha Harris.
According to the President, the Club has in the past been holding daytime walks, Journey for Sight, along with members of the St. Kitts Society for the Blind, but it was the first time they were doing the evening event. The clubs in Zone 2C were communicating during the walk, as the event was held at the same time in their various countries.
“We will make it an annual event, in November which is the month that we do Diabetes Awareness and so on, so today we just wanted to do our special niche,” said President Lion Adaeze Hanley. “We know that the St. Kitts Diabetes Association would have done their walk, the week before, but we wanted to do something a little different and special for Lions, our Glow Walk.”
The Diabetes Glow Walk took participants from the Cenotaph via Bay Road, and at the General Post Office they turned left on to Adlam Street, then right to South Independence Square Street, up East Independence Square Street. On Cayon Street, they turned left and another left to West Independence Square Street, right on to Bank Street, and at the Circus they turned left to Fort Street, which led them back to the Bay Road, and ended the walk on the Port Zante’s parking lot behind the National Museum.
A police officer in a patrol car joined them in downtown Basseterre, and drove ahead of them to give advance warning to motorists of the walk participants as they made their way on the busy Basseterre streets.
Along the way they made a few stops, and when eager members of the public asked what it was all about, they were eager to explain the purpose of the walk. One bystander was overheard saying that he will certainly join them next year as he was concerned that if proper education was not given out to the general public, things could only get worse in the country.
“The glow, in the Diabetes Glow Walk, just means that we are shining and that we are championing the cause - we are glowing in blue, saying that we are with persons who are living with the challenge, and we are committed to assisting in any way that we can as an organisation,” pledged President Hanley. “It is one of our global causes and so, we are interested.”
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