The River: A Fable for Diabetes Educators

Editor’s note: This article is adapted from the address Dr. Anderson delivered as the recipient of the American Diabetes Association Outstanding Educator in Diabetes award for 2000. He delivered the address in June 2000 at the Association’s 60^th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions in San Antonio, Tex.

A long, long, time ago, in a far away place we now call the Amazon Rain Forest, lived the River People. The River People had lived in small villages extending for almost 500 miles along the Amazon River for as long as anyone could remember. As their name suggests, the river was the center of their lives. It provided most of their food and was a means of travel between the villages. The river also formed the core of their cultural and spiritual lives.

The River People were peaceful and industrious. Each year during the first full moon following the rainy season, they gathered at the festival grounds for 10 days to celebrate the new year. Young and old alike, they came from all of the villages to be a part of the festival. During the festival, they traded, played games, and fell in love. It was a time of singing, romance, story telling, and contests.

The highlight of the event was the boat races held at the end of the festival. The River People built a variety of boats, including fast slender canoes and larger blunt-ended dugouts. The dugouts were used primarily for transporting trading goods up and down the river and, unlike the canoes, were propelled with two oars. During the races, young men and women from different villages demonstrated their strength and agility, while the boat builders compared their work. All of the villages built canoes and dugouts with varying designs. Some were longer, wider, or deeper, and some …