Raising diabetes awareness among companies
”We would like to extend our gratitude to the Novo Nordisk employees for their very extensive lectures on diabetes,” said Dr Roman S. Manalang, head of the Corporate Wellness Centre of the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO), the Philippines’ largest distributor of electricity, as he welcomed the TakeAction! team. Monday 4 July 2005, MERALCO was one of two venues for the first Diabetes Awareness Drive (DAD) initiated and arranged by Novo Nordisk employees from the Philippines.
Novo Nordisk employees taking action
The employees at MERALCO and at the Council for the Welfare of Children, a Philippine government agency, were guided through a two-hour session aimed at increasing the awareness of diabetes as a deadly disease and also highlighting the importance of a healthy lifestyle and nutrition. The Novo Nordisk employees also made the 100 participants exercise as part of the day’s activities. Each session covered:
- Introduction and company profile
- Exercise
- Lecture on diabetes and its treatment, diet and lifestyle modifications
- Open Forum – Q&A
- Refreshments
According to Jonathan Gobres, member of the local TakeAction! team, “the two organizations were very grateful that we conducted such an activity in their offices. At MERALCO they even requested the same activity for their satellite offices. For the Council for the Welfare of Children, being a government-run institution, we were able to establish our presence in this area and we were told that they re going to spread the news to the rest of their organisation.”
Reaching out and making a difference
Prior to the DAD, the employees in the Philippines have been conducting outreach programmes in their local communities. As part of the gift-giving activities during the Christmas season in 2002 and 2003, the volunteers from Novo Nordisk have visited a children’s home, a residential home for elderly people, and a village of tribal minorities. However, the employees realized that these activities didn’t leave a lasting impression, neither internally or externally, and decided to make future outreach programmes the affiliate’s official TakeAction! activity.
Seven employees have been involved in the planning and carrying out of the DAD and have done everything from coming up with ideas for activities and participants, putting together lectures about diabetes and communicating with the local management, to distributing TakeAction! t-shirts and flags and training presenters. According to Jonathan it is all worth while, since “the joy of being able to give or share something cannot be replaced by any material things.”
Future Diabetes Awareness Drives 
It seems as if the success of the first DAD will make future drives poss ible. “There are other organizations lined up – waiting for us to perform the same drives in their offices. And since we realized that it doesn t take or cost much for us to arrange such an activity, we intend to cater to the other organizations hopefully within the year,” says Jonathan. At the same time, the Philippine Diabetes Association is commending the Philippine TakeAction! team for initiating such a programme and the association has welcomed the idea of teaming up with Novo Nordisk in the future drives.
The TakeAction! team has high hopes for the future
As a result of their initial success the TakeAction! team have high hopes for the future. Jonathan concludes, “With the full support from HQ and the management of Novo Nordisk in the Philippines, there’s no doubt that our succeeding TakeAction! undertakings will be as successful as the first. Let’s all unite in living up to the Triple Bottom Line ideals. Let us continue to TakeAction! and make a difference by walking the talk!”
