Record Live Podcast

Stopping diabetes one toe at a time
Jarrod Stackelroth: [00:00:00] Hi there, everyone. I'm Jared.
Zanita Fletcher: And I'm Zenita.
Jarrod Stackelroth: We are your hosts of Record Live, a podcast where we talk about church, faith, and living well.
Zanita Fletcher: We believe as followers of Jesus, faith is more than just a set of beliefs. It's a way of life, something we put into practice.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Let's go live.
Jarrod Stackelroth: It's another week. It's another record live and I am blessed to be joined by Pam Townend today. Thanks for joining us, Pam.
Pamela Townend: That's all right, Jared. Great to be here.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Now, usually, , we have Zanita co hosting this program. Zanita is very lucky. She is hiking in the mountains of Nepal at the moment. Oh,
Pamela Townend: wow.
Pamela Townend: Lucky her.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Taking some [00:01:00] well deserved rest. Yeah. Some well deserved leave, , So we pray that she's having a good time and a safe time., but today, Pam, we're going to talk about a topic that is close to your heart. I believe I've seen you buzz with activity over the past few years, around 10, 000 toes and its ministry and its mission.
Jarrod Stackelroth: , so , I think it's a really important conversation to have because there's definitely some social issues and some cultural issues around this. But there's also some practical things we can offer as a church to the communities and the societies that we live in. , and we always like to focus , on that in Record Live.
Jarrod Stackelroth: So as we get started today, tell us a little bit about 10, 000 Toes. And, some of the background, where it comes from, why 10, 000 Toes? It's a sort of funny name for an organization., give us some of the foundation for that.
Pamela Townend: Sure. Okay. Well, 10, 000 Toes, as of October, [00:02:00] which we're currently in, is seven years of age.
Pamela Townend: So seven years ago, Dr. Chester Kumar, Dr. Paul Rankin and I were having a conversation and it was around, , what Chester had been doing during a leave break and, , yeah, long story short, a couple of his, , colleagues had died as a result of diabetes. And that immediately, tapped my heart because I have , in my family a history of diabetes.
Pamela Townend: So I went, my goodness, here's another situation. Here we are at the SPD health and lives keep being cut short because of diabetes. And then Paul went on to say, well, you know what? Diabetes in his family as well. And so we just went, my goodness, all three of us have been impacted through death, due to diabetes.
Pamela Townend: [00:03:00] And here we are in the health department in the prime seat, to be able to do something. So we kept chatting and it was kind of like, well, we're currently doing a bit of a machine gun. We're going to hit every health topic that we can possibly think of and let's try and change the whole world.
Pamela Townend: And in some ways, when you do that, you don't actually make any difference. So we went, Hey, why don't we actually do something about diabetes? And, we weren't really sure where that would lead, but we went and got pen and paper and a bit of butcher paper. And I kid you not within three hours, the 10, 000 toes campaign was born.
Pamela Townend: Now , you made a bit of a joke about, you know, it's a strange name and it is, and it's even stranger these days because in the beginning we had five toes and now we've only got four. But it creates conversation., and the whole thing around it was if we could get 10, 000 people. to [00:04:00] change their lifestyle.
Pamela Townend: Number one, wouldn't that be impactful? Number two, if we could get 10, 000 people donating a hundred dollars, we'd make a million and that sounded so simple. And then we'd have enough money to say to the governments, Hey, this is what the health message looks like under the 10, 000 toes banner. And it actually works.
Pamela Townend: And here's the research. So, you know, that's a little bit of the background story to how 10, 000 Toes was born,, seven years ago.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Hmm. I've always thought it had something to do with the amputations. Tell me a little bit about the amputations. sort of connection between diabetes and toes or limbs. And, maybe it's a good opportunity to share with our listeners, some of the stats around this area.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Cause they're quite frightening, like they're quite graphic, some of the stats and some of the, the [00:05:00] things that we see some of the complications that arise from type two diabetes in the Pacific especially.
Pamela Townend: Yes. So basically once we got the 10, 000 toes name, we then got our computers and started going, well, you know, how big a problem is diabetes in the Pacific?
Pamela Townend: And that's where we discovered when we took all the numbers,, that the statistics were given us every 20 minutes. and amputation was occurring if we took all the countries. Now, this was really significant for Dr. Kumar because he is a surgeon or was a surgeon in the Solomon Islands. And Jared, what he did every day.
Pamela Townend: Was chop off limbs. So all of a sudden, not only had he lost colleagues, but when we looked at the stats, he's going and he was able to flesh it out for one of a better term, no pun [00:06:00] intended, , to say that he got to the stage, he was sick and tired chopping off limbs and there had to be a better way.
Pamela Townend: And that's why when the South Pacific division called him to be the health director, he gladly put down tools. and said, yes, I want to be a part of that change. So, you know, we're looking at 74 percent of people are going to die of a chronic disease. And one of those is diabetes. And so if we tackle diabetes, through lifestyle, we're also going to address the issues of heart attacks, cancers, every other disease that, that possibly can come under the lifestyle, disease category.
Pamela Townend: And so that's why we went, let's narrow it. Let's bring it down to one thing that we were really passionate about. But what I've discovered as I've gone on the journey is that diabetes is affecting everybody. [00:07:00] If you're not diabetic, you will know somebody in your family or have a friend who is. And so this isn't going away.
Pamela Townend: So let's talk about that elephant. That is in the room.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Hmm. And just to put that into some perspective, by the end of this conversation, someone in the Pacific is going to have had an amputation by the end of, you know, five minutes after our conversation, there'll have been two, two people will have, actually experienced this
Pamela Townend: just in the
Jarrod Stackelroth: short time.
Jarrod Stackelroth: And, and that is a life changing thing to have a limb or a digit or a foot or something have to be cut off, without getting too graphic. People might think, but diabetes is a sugar disease. You know, if I've got no, my pancreas isn't working properly, I'm not producing insulin. So I need medication to help that. , because I can't process the sugar. So. But what's that got to do with my fingers and my toes? [00:08:00] People may not understand the ins and outs of the disease. Yeah. What connection is there?
Pamela Townend: Yeah. What we're actually talking about, there's actually more than one type of diabetes. So the one where your pancreas doesn't work, that's type one.
Pamela Townend: And you definitely need to have, , injections generally, for that because you need help. But then there's type two, and that's where our diet and our lifestyle has impacted us. And it means that our pancreas and our body is not working. It's sluggish because we have,, how can I say kindly?, we have not been kind to it, and we've allowed it to break down, but research shows.
Pamela Townend: A lot of research these days that by changing our lifestyle, by stop being so immobile, getting up and moving, we can actually reverse. [00:09:00] So diabetic people, we've got statistics to show that there is a strong possibility, you know, there's always the others that don't fit into, the research pattern, but you can change and make a difference.
Pamela Townend: And I think that's exciting because we've got lots of impact stories these days where people have come, they've been screened, , they have discovered they're pre diabetic, they've discovered they're diabetic, and by going on a lifestyle intervention program, Can actually wave the flag and say, I'm no longer diabetic, or I'm no longer pre diabetic.
Pamela Townend: And you know what? That's powerful. And your body can go into that healing mode. And God created us to heal, but we have to feed it the right medicines. And by that, I'm not referring to a capsule or any other. Artificial means I'm talking about those good old greens, the vegetables, the fruits, the [00:10:00] legumes, the herbs, all those things that God gave us way back in the beginning.
And so, Diabetes, type two diabetes can affect your circulation, I understand. And so you get poor circulation in your fingertips and your toes. It starts at the extremities and those things. It's almost like they start to rot and they need to be cut off. They can get infected. I know in the tropics, it's hard to sometimes a normal cut can turn into a sort of festering wound in the humidity and it doesn't, doesn't heal properly.
Jarrod Stackelroth: And, this is where I guess some of the. The amputations stem from, what are the figures like through the Pacific? I will always be struck. I traveled up to a very remote place in Papua New Guinea and off one of the planes that was on the grass airstrip. We're probably 90 odd boxes of two minute noodles.
Jarrod Stackelroth: , And so , we often think, the [00:11:00] Pacific lifestyle is fairly laid back. , it's, , fresh fish, fresh coconuts, and they're just., there, but there is an invasion almost of processed Western foods that are cheap and readily available and are starting some of this issue with, we're seeing more and more lifestyle disease enter the Pacific regions.
Jarrod Stackelroth: What kind of saturation does that have through the Pacific?
Pamela Townend: Unfortunately, it has a huge saturation. , I mean, as, as, Europeans have gone mainly in that missionary mode, not only did they take good news, but they also took bad habits. And a lot of those were the processed foods and the rich foods that we were used to.
Pamela Townend: And we used to take them across to compliment our meals because we couldn't get our palates around the nice. clean, fresh produce that the islands had. And then as [00:12:00] they've watched on, this has infiltrated into their society. And for many reasons they've looked and gone, well, you've brought us good news.
Pamela Townend: And, you've brought us also these foods. They must be good. because a lot of the other information that you have given us has been good. So why not adopt your food habits as well? And that has been detrimental to the islands. So much so that there's stories now of people they'll grow their beautiful green vegetables, , carrots that are just as orange as you can imagine, color wise, just vibrant and I'll take them down to the markets and sell them.
Pamela Townend: Get their money and then go down and buy these two minute noodles, the soft drink, the chips, the white bread, all the processed foods that actually will kill them. So they've given up their beautiful, healthy thing. That's keeping them healthy. And gone, Oh, let [00:13:00] me trade that in for diabetes.
Pamela Townend: Now, obviously, it doesn't look like that. , but that's the reality. That's the equation. So it's very, very sad. , you stop and think, Jared, I'm just, I was reflecting the other day about. Walking the Kokoda. Not that I walked it. , the Kokoda 10, 000 toes, , fundraiser now, , right up there in those remote parts of Papua New Guinea, there was chocolates, there was soft drinks and things.
Pamela Townend: Why was that? It was because those that walked the Kokoda, the Aussies, were demanding and looking for , those articles, those items that they're so used to. And so the Papua New Guineans in their graciousness were wanting to please the Aussies and so started supplying them the food. Now, if they only supplied them, that'd be good.
Pamela Townend: But what they've done is they've started to eat it. So even way up [00:14:00] there in the remote mountains of Pabanyu, Guinea, , processed food has reached it and it's going to have a diabolical effect if, if we don't do something about it.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Interesting that diabolical and diabetes share a lot of letters in common.
Jarrod Stackelroth: So back to, where you started, you've got a whiteboard. You're like, let's raise some money. Let's tackle a problem that we can see very clearly has. Huge ramifications for our communities in the Pacific. How has 10, 000 toes in the past seven years gone about doing that?, what are your methods?
Jarrod Stackelroth: What are you doing? What are you providing in communities? How are you getting the message, of the lifestyle changes that are needed and the Adventist health message, which tailors really nicely into this. How are you getting those things out? And what sort of buy in have you seen from people there, from governments, from the countries that [00:15:00] you're working in?
Pamela Townend: To be honest, we really didn't know what we were doing. We were just stepping out in faith and creating things as we went. So we went, well, you know what? We live here in Australia. We actually need people to help us. And so we created a five level ambassadorship, , program. And so. These, ambassadors, each level has a pin and they're different colors.
Pamela Townend: And so the people in the islands, they love pathfinders and on all the honors that they get on their sashes. So we thought, well, let's go down that track. And so when we train up somebody, what we want to do is we want to change their life. So along come along comes, let's call him Johnny. And he says, Oh, yes.
Pamela Townend: I like the sounds of this program. What can I learn? So we say, Oh, well,, would you like to become a level one ambassador? And so, we got a video done and it would tell [00:16:00] the history of health and how Diabetes is such an issue and if they'd like to get on board and why they should get on board and that we would train them up to, to be a facilitator.
Pamela Townend: So the method behind that was number one, that ambassador hopefully would learn health life skills that would impact them. And then as a result of that, they could pass that knowledge on. So that's where we started. We started in the Solomon Islands because Dr. Chester Kumar being a Solomon Islander himself had lots of connections and we went from there.
Pamela Townend: Let's start with his country and, and we'll see where that goes. And so, yeah, we started training. So in the background, we're going, all right, so once we've got these ambassadors, what are they actually going to do? What's the actual program that they're going to prevent? Now we have wonderful programs here in Australia, like CHIP.[00:17:00]
Pamela Townend: chip does not meet the needs of the remote, Pacific countries. We need grassroots. So then we went in search of a program that would help with the food. We started to develop, exercise programs, behavior. So we just started. Looking out of all our Adventist resources that we had here in Australia and started to adapt them and make them,, culturally appropriate for the islands.
Pamela Townend: So then we had a program that they could share with friends, but we realized very quickly that they needed to test. And that's where, let me grab my backpack. We came up and went, let's grab a backpack, label it. It means that it becomes mobile. We will put inside it a glucometer, a blood pressure machine, , dressmaking tape to do measuring so we can get their height and their weight and some scales.[00:18:00]
Pamela Townend: And from those simple,, medical equipment, we will be, yes, we'll be able to ascertain if they have diabetes. And then once we know that and if they have high blood pressure, we can then say, join this program and, let's reverse it. And so that was the simple mentality of it all when we first started.
Pamela Townend: And you know what? We never dreamed. that the people on the ground would feel empowered about having trained, being trained up in the simple medical equipment and then going and reaching others. So much so that last two weeks ago at our third summit for the Trans Pacific Union, we announced after doing a whole lot of calculations that we have almost 11, 000 ambassadors.
Pamela Townend: out there across 13 countries using the backpacks. doing [00:19:00] screenings, running intervention programs, which we have a whole range of them these days and really making a difference. And I think it's so appropriate at this time to shout out to all those 11, 000 people because some of them could be watching because they do love to follow the record, et cetera.
Pamela Townend: And if it wasn't for them, this campaign wouldn't be making the impact that it is. It is. them at the grassroots feeling empowered. That's what it's all about. We've given them not only a vision, but we've given them the equipment and the knowledge to change their lives, their family and the community that they work in.
Pamela Townend: And , it's really as simple as that. And we've blended that in with the discipleship movement that the SPD has, because that's very important that health is all about seven dimensions., it's not just what goes in your mouth. It's not just moving, but it's our brain. , it's, how are we [00:20:00] coping?
Pamela Townend: , it's are we positive? So we use,, Darren Morton's live more, project as one of our lifestyle interventions. , which helps with positive thinking and all those kind of things in case people listening, haven't heard of it. It's amazing program and, we just go around. , we talk about the environment.
Pamela Townend: We talk about your vocation,, as in, Do you, as an ambassador, you have the opportunity to give back, to serve your community. , we talk, we deal in delve into the intellectual, but we love talking into the space of the spiritual. And so, yeah, . That's the journey and we can connect because we work with Adventist pastors and school teachers and all those, that as we find somebody who is interested in these other dimensions, we are connecting people.
Pamela Townend: And that leads to healing. [00:21:00] To wonderful stories of, just healing in, in not only physical, but spiritually and emotionally and all those other areas as well.
Jarrod Stackelroth: There's a number of things I love about that, especially the sort of equipping the grassroots and , you set out to have maybe 10, 000 people helping, but now you've got 11, 000 ambassadors, you've sort of surpassed that mark and yet the need is so great.
Jarrod Stackelroth: But I guess it needs to keep. Keep going. I've noticed and I can't help but notice because it comes across my desk on the record news coming out. , there's been a lot of work that 10, 000 toes has done even with government level. So there's the grassroots sort of helping equip local people, especially our church members have put their hand up and said, I want to be involved.
Jarrod Stackelroth: That's great. But what about. in some ways it seems like 10, 000 Toes is attempting to change the face of some of these nations by working with the government, the health departments to really make an impact [00:22:00] at that level. What does that look like for 10, 000 Toes?
Pamela Townend: Yeah, mind boggling, really. It almost frightens me when I think about the capacity, the opportunities that are out there.
Pamela Townend: We're working with the Fiji government, and their health team. , we also have connections with Fiji agriculture because gardens and all that kind of thing come in as part of our work these days. And so we're looking for partnerships with all those, government departments. We've also had a couple of awards from the World Health Organization and they enabled us to go and work in Nauru and they paid for us to go there.
Pamela Townend: , we need to build, , , stronger ties. And as we keep getting the screening results from that, , it enables us to keep showing that the research because everyone's interested in research. It's probably the furthest from where I am. I don't have a research mind, but I have, , Dr Lillian [00:23:00] Kent, who who works for us and she loves that space.
Pamela Townend: Isn't that funny? We all are gifted to do different things. And Lillian just loves all those numbers. And she has an amazing mind. Yeah, , she wrote the live more abundantly program originally, and she's doing another step up to wholeness currently for us, which are intervention programs will help take people on a journey, but look at their statistics.
Pamela Townend: Which will enable us. Then go to the governments to prove that the Adventist health message does work. And we know it does, but we have to repackage it. And I think that's the beauty of 10, 000 toes. It's got an attractive name. It could be. grabs people's attentions and their curiosity. And then when they hear and I get to share, you see the lights going on and they're going, Oh yeah, that's really cool.
Pamela Townend: And it's the same with the government, America, Samoa, Samoa, [00:24:00] Solomon Islands. I could keep going. All the governments that are talking with us, each one and Papua New Guinea, they all look different because They're individual countries and they have their own system and that's why it's important that culturally 10, 000 Toes works, in the space in the country that it's designed for and that we don't try and say one cap fits all because it doesn't, it looks different for each government.
Pamela Townend: , but the people on the ground, they know how to work in that space. And it's very exciting. Solomon Islands, their big thing is, , they've got a partnership within churches. So that being all churches, all denominations are coming together and they have adopted the 10, 000 toes brand.
Pamela Townend: And so we've got Uniting Church, Presbyterians, Catholics, all of them. Using the 10, 000 Toes program to roll out in their communities. Now, that's something [00:25:00] totally that we never anticipated, but what an exciting opportunity. You know, in Solomon Islands, Dr. Chester Kumar has been invited to islands that in the past have said, Sorry, Seventh day Adventists.
Pamela Townend: We don't actually want anything that you've got to, , offer us, we're quite self sufficient and we're all right and now the tides turning that begging us to come and share 10, 000 toes with them. And, , yeah, it's just amazing the change that the campaign is bringing different ways for different countries, but they've all got exciting stories.
Pamela Townend: Impacts.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Let's share one of those stories. Do you have a story that sticks out to you from someone whose life has been changed or has made a really big impact because of the 10, 000 Toes program?, one of these grassroots sort of people.
Pamela Townend: I do. I'm just thinking, which one will I choose? I have quite a few.
Pamela Townend: I was [00:26:00] sharing with somebody this morning, , I get quite excited about these, but look, let me go with the Solomon Island one. There was a guy, , his name's Alex. He actually, had been in a lot of trouble. He, , had been, experimenting with drugs. He was constantly stoned, as in off his mind, and he got into gangs and he actually stoned a school, as in palleted with literal stones, When he was not in his right mind and he got to spend time in jail , as a consequence to that upon his release, the 10, 000 toes campaign was visiting had been invited to his village and he was hanging around the because the community was a little wary of this guy because wherever he showed up, [00:27:00] unfortunately, trouble seemed to follow him.
Pamela Townend: And so he was on the outskirts, bit curious as to know what these meetings were that were happening. And as he listened, he heard about health and , , the importance of having a clean life. And then Dr. Chester Kumar, after the health talk, went on to deliver a bit of a, spiritual context. And as Alex stood up the back, something started to happen to his stoned heart.
Pamela Townend: It started to melt. And that evening, in the darkness of what, of the night. He went and knocked on, one of our lead ambassadors doors. He didn't want anybody to see him because he knew what everybody thought. And he said to the lead ambassador, is there any way that I could become an ambassador? Now,.
Pamela Townend: The lead ambassador was kind of warned to be wary, [00:28:00] but he decided to give Alex the benefit of the doubt. And he said, do you know what? Why don't you come and help set up chairs? , help me put up the banners, help me lay out the equipment, fairly basic stuff. And the whole concept was that if Alex was willing to do those menial jobs.
Pamela Townend: that maybe this would be an opportunity, for him to gain favour in the eyes of those that were watching. Do you know what? He was there every night that they were running a program, the first there, setting up, pulling up banners, pulling down banners. He was desperate to be involved. And as time went on and he watched the other ambassadors who were learning how to give blood pressure and how to take, glucose readings, he ended up saying after a couple of weeks, is it possible that I too could do that?
Pamela Townend: could learn some of these skills. Because if I had a skill, then maybe I wouldn't [00:29:00] be so inclined to waste my days away drinking and, the past behaviors. And so little by little, his life changed. And Alex is now a 10, 000 toes ambassador that has found a whole new meaning for life. He's given away his, , His days of drinking and taking drugs, and he's working to help other people.
Pamela Townend: And he has such a powerful story to share with others., and the village that he comes from are no longer wary. They just marveled at the change in Alex. Somebody believed in him, gave him an opportunity. And it's probably not the story that we would expect out of 10, 000 Toes. because there's not a diabetes element to this one.
Pamela Townend: , do you know what I mean? But it doesn't matter. Lies were changed. I have so many diabetes stories. I can share one of those [00:30:00] too, but there's just one out of the box that doesn't fit., and those kind of stories are happening to, we weren't even looking. We're not even doing a drug awareness program.
Pamela Townend: We're doing a diabetes program and yet , we are attracting people from all walks of life.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Wow. Yeah. That's a really powerful story. I love it. , we're finishing up. We're running out of time, Pam. It seems like we could talk for much longer, but as we leave, , we'd like to get practical on record live.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Give us in a nutshell, just something to take away from us. What can we do, in our own. Maybe walk this week, maybe a lesson that you've learned from 10, 000 toes that just encourages you that you could leave with us , to maybe get active in our Christian lives., we've got the, we've got the website there on, on the comments.
Jarrod Stackelroth: If you would like more information about 10, 000 toes, everyone can, , follow that link and go to 10, 000toes. [00:31:00] com and get all that information there. But, yeah, can you just leave us with something to think about this week, something that you've learned perhaps, from doing this, , over the past seven years?
Pamela Townend: Ah, yes. Okay. What would be the one thing? That's narrowing it right down, Jared. , Look, we rub shoulders with people every day. We live next door to people, you know, whether we're in a unit or we're in a house. We all, and I say all, have health issues. Now, it doesn't necessarily mean it's physical, it might be emotional.
Pamela Townend: It may be spiritual. It may be intellect, , as in , we are, we are complex people. We need to get to know people because until they know how much we care, they don't, until they know how much we care about them, they're not interested , in anything else. And I've learned that if we just take the time to connect, we will [00:32:00] find a way that we can impact their lives.
Pamela Townend: And it might be that you can offer them direction. Now they might be struggling with diabetes. You could direct them to the website because on there's recipes, there's stories, there's ways that they can get, , get in contact and help., There might be churches out there that are going, man, I'd like to help the 10, 000 toes campaigner.
Pamela Townend: We're next year wanting to transform all our doctor clinics into wellness clinics. That is going to be a huge next step. Dr. Chester started the adopter clinic many, many years ago, but. , due to hurricanes and , bad weather. There's a lot that need repairing. There's so much that can be done. And I just invite people that whether it's personally, whether it's connecting with your neighbor, whether it's connecting or praying or getting online and donating or just praying for the campaign, don't think about it, do it because, , it will make a difference [00:33:00] whether it's a financial, whether it's a prayer, whether it's connecting with your neighbor.
Pamela Townend: The rewards we'll never know until we get to heaven.
Jarrod Stackelroth: There you go, folks, don't think about it. Just do it.
Pamela Townend: Just do
Jarrod Stackelroth: it. Some words of wisdom today. Hey, Pam, thanks so much for sharing your experience. Some of the amazing work of the 10, 000 Toes ministry. I've seen firsthand the health checks on the Kokoda track and carrying those.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Backpacks to give out to the villages there and how much it's appreciated., some people who have never seen a doctor as such before and just feel valued because someone's come to check on their health. So yeah, it's a really important ministry and, thank you. And the team and all your ambassadors for everything that you guys are doing to turn back the tide on diabetes.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Pacific. All right, everybody, we've come to the end of our program. God bless you. Have a good week and we'll see you again next time on Record Live.
Pamela Townend: Bye. [00:34:00]