Durban Wellness Festival 2017 - a little glimpse on the day

Wellness Festival highlights Diabetes in KZN

On Saturday, November 11, the annual 2017 Durban Wellness Festival 5km

walk/run was held - supported by SASA and Lilly to promote general health

and wellness, and in particular an awareness campaign and to raise funds on

behalf of Diabetes SA Durban.

The event took place at the Lower Marine Parade Amphitheatre at the Bay of

Plenty and saw everyone - from babies in prams, people in wheelchairs, to

dogs on leashes all turning up to support from all over KZN. Durban was

certainly "doing it for diabetes".  

"Even though World Diabetes Day is celebrated annually on November 14 with

the aim of raising awareness and educating people about this dreaded

disease, its complications and the care that people with this condition

need, we encourage the public to show more interest in monitoring their

health, fitness and diet irrespective of the date being "observed," says

Jenny Russell, the Branch Manager at Diabetes SA in Durban. "Diabetes has

been dubbed the 'silent killer' for years and we seriously need to do

something about it collectively!" she added. 

The day ended with loads of lucky draws taking place after the walk, with

the addition of a wellness expo at the amphitheatre where free blood sugar,

blood pressure & kidney function checks took place as well as experts in

their field present for members of the public to ask Diabetes related

questions!

Seen at the festival were: Jenny Russell from Diabetes SA Durban office with the Brown's - Kerry-Ann,

Kieran and Ruleyn

Jodi Aigner, Thembi Manukuza, Neetu Pillay, Dana Govender

Sindi Buthelezi, Londi Qwabe, Toys Qwabe, Sam Maphumulo

Dharmendra Parekh, Susheila Naidoo, Rafeek Nakooda Dylan Jordaan, Liam Bruce, Calvin Botha

Words and images Steven Brown

Wellness Festival draws closer

Kevin Bouwer (Type 1 Diabetic) with Riley Mc Cabe who will be participating in the Durban Wellness Festival 

on Saturday, November 11^th and Molly (the Marshall) Nel from the Durban Athletics Club who will be one 

of the marshalls on hand on the day of the event. image supplied by Steven Brown

WALK THE TALK AS THE DURBAN WELLNESS FESTIVAL DRAWS CLOSER!

Denial gets you nowhere - so, find out more about diabetes as the Durban Wellness Festival gets a step closer!

Known as the “silent killer” disease, diabetes can really impact on your quality of life – but it is either preventable or manageable. To put it simply, knowledge is power, according to Jenny Russell, the manager of the Diabetes SA Durban office. 

The Durban Wellness Festival - proudly supported by SASA and Lilly – will provide plenty of info-tainment on Saturday, November 11. You can learn more about creating a healthy lifestyle for yourself, family and friends via plenty of festivities. 

These include various dance routines as well as a live performance by local singer and songwriter, Holly Wasserfall. A diabetic, Holly was initially incorrectly diagnosed and hospitalized when she was just 8 years old. It was finally discovered that she was a Type 1 Diabetic at about age 11. “I have always said that I won’t let this disease define me but I would never be who I am without my disease. It is a big part of who I am,” she admits. 

Joining Holly on stage will be radio and television personality Lloyd Paul who will keep the festivities going throughout the day.

Event supporters such as SASA will be there to provide general guidelines on healthy eating, as well as Lilly Diabetes who will be bringing along their diabetes educators. Members of the public can learn a lot about health and, exercise – or simply just learn more about what diabetes is.  Other medical related supporters will also be on hand offering free blood sugar and blood pressure checks.

We look forward to welcoming a wide range of people on the day – from those who live with diabetes to those with close friends or family members who have to manage this disease. One of those who will be enthusiastically lining up will be Pinetown resident and a proud father of three, Kevin Bouwer (52), who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 28 years ago. 

Bower has participated in over 8 Midmar Miles and recently he participated in 2 Tinman Runs & Tri-series. He has lost count of the number of MTB & Trail running events he has participated in over the years. He wraps up by saying, “I manage the disease so it fits into my lifestyle and I don’t let it manage me!”

 To improve your health and learn more about minimising the risk of diabetes, join us at the Durban Wellness Festival to participate in either a 5km Run or Walk on Saturday, November 11, at the Durban Amphitheatre at the Bay of Plenty.

Registration opens at 10am, with the Festival officially kicking off at 2pm and the 5km walk and run starting at 4pm. The entire event finishes at 6pm with lucky draw spot prizes. 

The 5km Walk or the 5km Run costs just R60 per person with all proceeds going towards Diabetes SA Durban. Please note that this organisation is a self funding organisation and does not receive any government funding.  All proceeds raised go back into the education of this dreaded disease within KZN. The Wellness Expo is free to the public.

For further information about this event, please contact Pat Bonini on 082 499 5222 during office hours or via email at mw.nerve@mweb.co.za.

Words and images Steven Brown S&A Marketing

A proudly Nerve Event