Diabetes

The Marshallese diet is ramen, white rice, and some fish or chicken. Many of them never see vegetables. There are small produce departments in the grocery stores here but they are out of range for these folks – often for us too! An avocado is $6 and a small bag of cherries is $8.

Because of their diet they are now the number one country in the world for diabetes. According to a recent Ministry of Health report, diabetes is the number one cause of admissions at the local hospital, the second leading cause of surgeries, and the number one reason for use of physical therapy services. I was told of a young couple in their 30’s who are each on their second marriage because they have both lost a spouse to the disease. All of this is recent; 60 years ago diabetes was unheard of here.

As part of our staff training, we attended a lecture by a man who works for our island’s Wellness Center, a non-profit agency that is working to educate the public and combat diabetes. He has devised an ingenious way of creating container gardens that are yielding amazing results. He tells us one container can produce 60 pounds of tomatoes a year! They are raising cucumbers, spinach, and melons, along with just about everything else. He showed us how to make the containers and my teachers are so excited they can hardly contain themselves! They envision teaching the students and then having the kids teach their parents. We could have contests to see which team grows the most or best produce. The containers would be a one-time expense. Once established they would be used year after year. In fact, the some of the vegetables could be sold and the proceeds used to create container gardens in the community

Each container requires a large, tall Rubbermaid container with a lid along with two large bags of potting soil.  The lid is tailored so that it creates a shelf on the inside of the container with holes that drain down into compartments that are made with 1 gallon recycled water bottles to make a hydroponic system for the plant roots. The soil is layered on top of the lid and there is an efficient watering system created with the small recycled water bottles. The containers are important for keeping the nutrients in and the rats out. Insects are managed by rubbing a leaf that has numbing qualities on rocks that are placed along the perimeter and then adding coconut shavings. The shavings attract the ants and the numbing agent kills them!

The speaker at the Wellness Center is convinced that if the Marshallese will begin growing their own vegetables, they can regain their health and cut their hospital costs by half. Our staff is excited to be part of the education process. We are applying for some grant monies for the initial tubs and soil and then we will be off and running. I hope to send you pictures of beautiful fruits and vegetables in a few months!

Take care, Becky