Diabetes Youth
Laura Snowden is passionate about supporting young people who, like her, have diabetes. As our country’s newest IDF Young Leader, she has an exciting project planned.
FORGING CONNECTIONS, LIFTING OTHERS
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arlier this year, we announced Laura had been chosen as Aotearoa New Zealand’s 2022–2024 representative on the Young Leaders in Diabetes Programme – run by the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF). The programme sees representatives from 65 countries come together – in person and online – to receive ‘continuous education throughout a threeyear period to empower them and help them become efficient advocates for themselves and others living with diabetes’. Over that time, each representative works on a diabetes-related project. Laura’s selection was a two-step process – she applied to Diabetes NZ to become New Zealand’s candidate for the programme
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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2022
then to the IDF to be accepted on to it. Since that acceptance, she’s partnered with Diabetes NZ to develop and submit her project proposal – a national young leaders programme for diabetes youth in Aotearoa. A RAPID DIAGNOSIS
Laura’s type 1 diabetes journey began when she was diagnosed at eight years old in the UK, where her family lived at the time. Her father had been diagnosed two years earlier, in his 30s. Laura says, ‘Luckily, I didn't get too sick because my mum knew the symptoms. I was drinking lots and peeing lots, and I was tired. Mum took me to the GP and said, “I think she might have diabetes – can you please test her?” I got diagnosed the same day. It all happened very fast.’
Her family moved to New Zealand when she was 17. ‘I didn’t have many friends here, and I thought, I’ll find people with diabetes because we have something in common to connect over.’ She began volunteering to help with diabetes youth camps in Auckland, and her life course changed. At 24, she’s been volunteering for seven years now, becoming a Group Leader, as well as a member of the Diabetes NZ Auckland Youth committee. She loves seeing how empowering the camps are. ‘The kids are really excited to see older people with diabetes. Some of them feel that, at school, they’re the odd kid. They say, “I'm the weird kid that gets picked on because I have to do injections.” Apparently kids
