Activities at the heart of diabetes prevention: Manoakeesic

Because diabetes doesn’t take a break, neither does Gary Manoakeesic.
“It is a constant battle for our community,” Manoakeesic, the diabetes prevention program coordinator in Sandy Lake, said. “So I try to specialize in physical activity and healthy eating. The disease is there 24/7. Diabetes is ongoing so I try and keep the youth moving just as much.”
Manoakeesic has seen huge changes in Sandy Lake since he brought his family back home to the community from Winnipeg nearly seven years ago.
“We had a big problem with type 2 diabetes,” he said, during a break at a diabetes conference in Thunder Bay Nov. 17. “There were no activities for the children when I came home. Anything that was happening was done by volunteers.”
It didn’t take long for Manoakeesic to get involved and he quickly joined the community’s diabetes program.
“What I really wanted to do was be able to get the youth more active and bring about change,” Manoakeesic said, explaining a focus was put on youth eight to 12 years of age.
He fondly remembers the early years of the program.
“The first thing I had to learn was how to build the trust of the parents,” he said. “Activities were getting cancelled (when they were volunteer driven) so there was a lot of heartbreak among the youth.”
He said when youth showed up at the field, volunteers wouldn’t be there.
“I had to build the trust of the parents so they would allow their children to come and play. They needed to know if an activity was planned, it was going to go ahead.”
The trust factor was slowly building when Manoakeesic’s organized sporting activities hit another snag, he said, breaking into a chuckle.
“Our first baseball league was almost a disaster,” Manoakeesic said. “Everyone only wanted to play for the winning team.
But he said he now tells everyone who participates there are no winners or losers.
“Everyone is a winner because everyone did the same amount of physical activity. The point is to get moving and get active.”
From those humble beginnings, the program has grown to the point where Manoakeesic believes nearly every youth in the community has participated in some of his programming.
The youth who were involved when he started are getting older and some have started families. Manoakeesic takes solace in seeing those young adults make good decisions for their family’s health.
“I would like to think I’ve helped teach them some things about health and diabetes,” he said. “I think we’re changing the way of living for future generations.”
Manoakeesic said the program’s success wouldn’t be possible without partners including the school, health authority, chief and council and outside agencies which have helped with fundraising.
The school has a healthy breakfast and snack program, diabetes curriculum for Grade 3-4 class, and a running club and track team.
The community’s diabetes camps have also been quite successful.
The camps, usually held every August, cover things such as hiking, traditional medicines, roots, cough remedies, swimming, checking blood sugar levels and nutrition.
“The kids seems to love it,” he said. “They want to come back. It is something they look forward to.”
Year round activities keep youth busy
Activities are planned year round. In the summer, there is running and baseball. Spring brings dodgeball tournaments and vegetable growing contests.
This year, a pumpkin growing contest was held.
“Only one little bitty pumpkin grew so the winner got a prize.”
Next year, Manoakeesic wants to hold a potato growing contest. He said community members won’t realize they are starting a garden.
“But some day, everyone in the community will have a garden and it will have started with the pumpkin contest.”
In the winter, there is sliding, skating, hockey and broomball. The youth know what activities to expect by the season now, Manoakeesic said.
With winter on hand, he’s usually building outdoor skating rinks. It’s something the youth have come to expect.
“If I build them, the youth will come,” Manoakeesic said, paraphrasing the famous Field of Dreams movie line. “As soon as they are ready, the youth will start skating. When that starts, I’ve really done my job.”
Manoakeesic tries to include anyone who wants to be involved in an activity. If youth don’t have equipment, he’s always looking for donations.
The youth of Sandy Lake respond quite well to Chief Sugar Daddy, a cartoon character costume who talks about health.
“I used to be in the suit but the kids started to recognize my voice so we switched,” he said. “The kids get so excited when they see him come out. They pay really good attention to him.”
Manoakeesic also has a faithful following for his weekly radio show in the community every Wednesday afternoon.
“I try to talk about awareness and health promotion. Every Wednesday morning, I sit down and just think about diabetes.”
It may be the only time he sits down and keeps still all week.
“I can’t stand being stuck behind a desk,” he said. “I need to be out in the community doing activities for the youth. I’m a hands-on guy.”
If it sounds like Manoakeesic works a lot, it is because he does.
“I got used to working 16 hours a day in construction,” he said. “I’m just applying that to this job. It is so important to me and the community, I can’t not give everything I have to fighting diabetes. I’m in this for the youth. This is not a job. This is the way we should be living our lives.”