‘Is that Omondi, who used to be sick?’

WDF staff meet people with diabetes worldwide, and each has a story. Here, we introduce Eric Omondi, a young Kenyan with type 1 diabetes.

As a kid, Eric had a reputation as ‘the bright one’ in Sirembe, a village in Southwestern Kenya. He was the third-born of seven siblings: curious, earnest and good in school.

But in sixth grade he started feeling ill. The symptoms resembled malaria, so his mother bought antimalarial drugs in the village market. The symptoms continued, but going to the hospital just wasn’t an option – it was far away, and getting there and paying for treatment was too expensive.

By eigth grade graduation, Eric’s symptoms were serious: extreme fatigue, thirst and weight loss. Yet somehow he continued to excel in school, setting in motion the biggest decision, and challenge, of his life.

“Due to poverty, my parents had no plans for me to proceed to high school,” Eric explains. “My elder brother and sister did not go past primary. But when we received our class 8 final exams, I had an A. When the high school calling letter came, I had secured a chance in a national school.”

With his family’s support, Eric decided to go. He would begin an exciting new phase of his life in the far-away metropolis of Nairobi. He felt the expectations acutely: his own, and those of his family and community. It was a lot of stress to place on a body that had been living with uncontrolled diabetes for years.