by Jamila Douhaibi | photo by Tanya Murchie –
Are you as determined as a 14 year old? Read more about the amazing work that Andrei Marti has been doing in his community and for those with Type 1 Diabetes. From selling tomato plants to schoolmates, to running large-scale recycling programs and literally bending over backwards and forwards, this youth is taking on the disease with a vengeance.
Andrei was about to start Grade 1 when his daycare noticed how much he was drinking and going to the bathroom. The amount had noticeably skyrocketed to the point of documenting the occurrences, which Andrei’s mother was also noticing. They found out that this was a main symptom of diabetes after his parents took him to the family doctor. Andrei says that the doctor didn’t think there was anything concerning, but took a test just in case. The office called later the same day and told them to “go straight to the hospital,” where Andrei ended up staying for a week.
Just like that, things changed drastically for his family. Remembering to take insulin, pricking his finger when he ate or exercised – it was a “lot for a family to take on in such a short amount of time,” says Andrei. And a lot of money. But someone from Help Fill a Dream Foundation came to the hospital and wrote a cheque to help the family cover supplies. Andrei says: “learning about the ins and outs is one thing but paying for it is another.”
The family was so grateful that they wanted to contribute to Help Fill a Dream, so they sold flowers on a stand outside of their farm and Andrei took plants to sell at school. They also started doing bottle drives to raise money for the organization. What started as $50 a month turned into thousands of dollars a year. When Andrei was eight, he got a permit to do handstands in downtown Victoria and says that he would make at least $100 an hour. But after he broke his wrist playing soccer, he “didn’t stop fundraising,” just turned his focus back to bottle recycling. During the pandemic, Andrei collected bottles from five different companies and raised $18,000 in two years. His family also placed bins outside of their farm (Willow Way Farm on Keating Cross Road) for people to drop off bottles, which the bottle depot would collect and sort, to enable more funds to go to Help Fill a Dream. Andrei says that it’s amazing “how small of a group you need to make a difference.”
Above and beyond fundraising, Andrei says he has “always found the human body and health sciences and research” fascinating and wanted to look into the science behind diabetes. During his
Grade 8 science project, he set up a full experiment to see how what he ate affected his energy while playing soccer. He ate different foods every day before playing and found that protein was the best option for longevity. His in-depth project got him 100% as well as being advanced to the UVic science fair. Again, he received top marks and went on to the 2023 Canada-Wide STEM Science Fair in Edmonton, only three weeks after the UVic fair. When he didn’t get bronze or silver, he was overwhelmed to receive not only the gold award for his age, but also a platinum award for the top six projects in the entire show, as well as scholarships for the University of Alberta and the University of Toronto.
Andrei still trains for soccer four days a week and says that his research has enabled him to “play with more security that blood sugar won’t go out of whack.” He recently travelled to Ottawa to meet with the Federal Health Minister and also won the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation advocate of the year award for all of Canada in 2023. Andrei is now in Grade 9 and just as determined as ever to learn more about how diabetes works in order to cure the disease. What started as a debilitating challenge for Andrei and his family has turned into something beyond limitations.
* And coming full circle alongside Seaside Magazine, Andrei was the Help Fill a Dream recipient at the June 2017 Taking it to the Street Road Hockey Tournament to support the Foundation. The foundraising event took place again this June; read all about it on page 12.
