Beyond the Classroom: A4D's Partnership with Ayeyarwaddy International School, Mandalay
Words from Dr Htet, A4D Mandalay Coordinator, with interviews from AIS leadership, teachers and student volunteers
Since 2019, Ayeyarwaddy International School (AIS) in Mandalay has sent students and teachers to volunteer at Action4Diabetes' (A4D) Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) camps. What started as a school looking to give students real-world experience has grown into one of A4D's strongest community partnerships, and after our most recent joint camp, it's clear why.
We sat down with AIS' Managing Director, teachers, and student volunteers to find out what keeps them coming back.
Why AIS says yes, every time
For Managing Director U Aung Ko Latt, the partnership was never just about ticking a volunteering box. "Our school believes that education is not only about academic achievement," he says. "We also want our students to develop problem-solving skills, creativity, confidence, teamwork, and a sense of responsibility toward their community."
That belief was reinforced during last year's earthquake in Mandalay, when the school noticed something telling: students with prior volunteering experience were the ones who stepped up. "Children with previous volunteering experience were more confident in taking initiative, working together, and responding to the needs of others," he explains. "This showed us the importance of giving students opportunities to learn and contribute outside the classroom."
It's why AIS continues to support A4D's T1D camps, and why its student committee is encouraged to keep responding to the needs of others, and are already organising charity fundraisers of its own for communities in need.
What the teachers see on the ground
Ask the teachers who bring students to camp, and the same word comes up again and again: empathy.
Teacher Ethan has watched students grow in ways that go well beyond the classroom. "The students developed in several key areas," he says, pointing to a sharp rise in empathy and mutual support, a stronger sense of civic responsibility, and hands-on health knowledge about Type 1 Diabetes.
He remembers two moments in particular. During one camp, a T1D participant experienced a hyperglycaemic episode. "The students who had been assigned to support him responded remarkably well," Ethan recalls. "They remained calm, stayed with him, helped reassure and settle him, and took the necessary measures to ensure his safety."
The second moment was quieter, but just as moving. "I noticed one of my students quietly arranging and aligning the shoes that the T1D participants had left outside a room," he says. "He was one of the more privileged students, yet he did not hesitate to perform a small task that served others, without seeking attention or recognition."
Assistant Teacher Ei Ei Phyo noticed a similar shift. Many students had assumed serious conditions like T1D mostly affected older people, until they met the campers. "Seeing young children managing the condition was an eye-opening experience for them," she says. "It touched them deeply, prompting them to actively ask, 'How can we help them?'"
In the words of the student volunteers
For the students themselves, the camp reshaped how they see both chronic conditions like Type 1 Diabetes and themselves.
Luke, a volunteer, says the biggest lesson wasn't medical. "They aren't just defined by their T1D, they have unique personalities, hobbies, and big dreams," he says of the campers. Along the way, he also picked up real knowledge, learning how high and low blood sugar can lead to complications like DKA and hypoglycaemia — and just how much daily discipline T1D management takes.
Honey built a close bond with her assigned camper simply by listening. "I asked about their hobbies and interests, learning that they loved art and many even aspired to study medicine to become doctors," she says. With both a grandmother and an uncle living with diabetes, the camp gave her context she'd never had before,
context that matters even more now that she's studying to become a doctor herself.
For Emma, the experience hit close to home in an unexpected way. She'd always known both her grandmothers have diabetes — but the camp was where she finally understood that one of them has Type 1, and what her daily insulin injections really mean. Her answer to volunteering again was immediate: "Definitely."
A wonderful partnership
For A4D, the value of the partnership with AIS runs just as deep. Student volunteers bring energy and fresh perspectives to our camp programmes, and they don't stop being advocates when the camp ends — many go on to raise T1D awareness within their own communities, extending our reach far beyond the camp gates. Their support also means more support at the camps, which translates directly into smoother, higher-impact events for the children we serve.
It's a valuable partnership: one where AIS, its teachers, its students, and A4D all gain something meaningful.
We look forward to building on this meaningful partnership in the future.
Comments