Operation Santa Claus: how Youth Diabetes Action takes the fear out of a frightening illness

Twelve-year-old Henry Chui Tsz-hin takes out a little blue zipper case and carefully places its contents on the table in front of him.

He has a sandwich bag with a dozen disposable utensils he calls "finger pricks" with which he checks his blood sugar levels. A bottle of insulin, a needle for administering injections four times a day, and a carton of fruit juice for emergencies.

Henry's zipper case goes everywhere with him. Like all Type 1 diabetes sufferers, leaving home without it means putting his life at risk. The condition, which afflicts 500 Hongkongers, requires a lot of conscientious care, something that can overwhelm young sufferers.

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"I found out I had diabetes when I was 10, and I was very nervous because I didn't know what was happening," says Henry, describing how his mother had noticed his rapid weight loss and had sent him to the doctor. He was also experiencing other common symptoms of the illness, like needing to urinate frequently and feeling very thirsty.

Unlike Type 2 diabetes, Henry's condition is not linked to obesity, genetics or living an unhealthy lifestyle. Why it occurs is a mystery to sufferers and their parents, who often do not have a family history of the disease.

"A lot of parents have a lot of questions when their child first gets diagnosed. They don't know anything about the illness and don't understand why their child is sick," says social worker Jenny Wong, who works for Youth Diabetes Action, a beneficiary of Operation Santa Claus, the annual fundraising drive organised by the South China Morning Post and RTHK.

Wong describes how parents worry that they lack the experience to care for their children, which is why it helps them to meet fellow parents of sufferers through Youth Diabetes Action, a Hong Kong NGO that provides support and a community for sufferers and caregivers.