On May 11, the brand new Diabetes Wellness Center was opened in Majuro, capital of the Marshall Islands. The center houses the Canvasback Diabetes Wellness Program, and will be a vital resource for more than one-third of adult Marshall Islanders who now suffer the debilitating consequences of diabetes.

The Diabetes Wellness Program represents a partnership between Canvasback Missions and the Marshall Islands Ministry of Health Services in an approved scientific study to track the long-term results of lifestyle intervention in patients with diabetes.

“This program is the culmination of a God-given dream we’ve had ever since President Kabua [now deceased] asked us to develop a diabetes reversal program for his people,” said Canvasback President Jamie Spence, who is serving as principal co-investigator for the study. “In the long run, the important research gained through this program has the potential to benefit not just the Marshallese people, but also the lives of impoverished people worldwide.”

Program Director Bob Chung was in charge of turning an old public health wing of the Majuro Hospital into a state-of-the-art facility, complete with commercial kitchen, fully-equipped gym, lecture hall, patient examination rooms and laboratory. He had the thrill of seeing how the center’s first group of patients responded during the initial weeks of the program.

“The Diabetes Wellness Program is, from my perspective, God’s will unfolding in front of our eyes,” Chung said. “People are being touched and lives are being changed in the Marshall Islands through this program.”

While Spence is grateful that the Diabetes Wellness Program already is yielding such promising results, he won’t be satisfied until the benefits of lifestyle change trickle down to the youngest members of Marshallese society.

“My personal burden is for the children, who are currently at great risk of developing diabetes in their lifetimes,” he said. “If we can save even some of them from the crippling and life-shortening effects of diabetes, then my dream really will have come true.”

Canvasback Missions is a nonprofit organization founded by Pleasant Hill church members Jamie and Jacque Spence. The mission has a 20-year history of providing opportunities for health professionals from the Northern California Conference and beyond offering medical, dental and health education services to the isolated islanders of Micronesia through a variety of short-term mission projects.

For more information on the Diabetes Wellness Program or any of Canvasback Missions’ programs, call 800-793-7245 or visit www.canvasback.org.