Youngsters struggling with diabetes in the face of broken health systems depend on wellwishers

A diabetic patient undergoes eye check-up on fundus camera photo at Diabetic center of Excellence at Nakuru Level Five hospital. [Mercy Kahenda/Standard]

Abdi Mohamed, 13, shrugs off his shoulders, smiles and apologetically declines a soda as he slowly sips water. The sun is scotching hot and his peers are scrambling over a crate of soda, a drink he has long forgotten its taste.

Abdi was diagnosed with diabetes when he was only 10 years, but for the past three years, he has learned the ropes to ‘maturity’ in dieting and even joined a health group that brings together diabetic patients.