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Dr Jackie Maalouf – Press The Ignite Button
Dr. Jackie Maalouf, founder of DiaLeb, an advocacy and education organisation in Lebanon, the guest in this podcast talks about the urgency she felt and her mission to ‘do something’ after her daughter was diagnosed with type one diabetes.
“the need is much greater, especially given the current situation”
This need to become active for her own daughter was what prompted her to get busy supporting other young people in Lebanon. She felt helpless initially and did not know where to look for information on appropriate care and lifestyle adjustments.
“I didn’t find anybody taking care of young adults being diagnosed with type one diabetes. So it was like to respond to a need. I never thought it would grow to become one of the leading awareness organisations in Lebanon, of course, but in the region as well. So we, we still are continuing with our work, the need is much greater, especially given the current situation. We started reaching out to the international organisations, that’s how we became members with the International Diabetes Federation in 2016 and then in 2022 I was voted by the General Assembly as Vice President.” DiaLeb, founded in 2011.
Despite advances for women worldwide there will always be impediments because of the pull of the motherhood and caring roles she believes. This motherhood role was her ignite button. “No matter how much we succeed in empowering women in gender balance, gender equality and so on, no matter what we do, challenges will always be there, because the woman has to have the maternity part, her challenges are always greater. But if she finds it from within herself, the Ignite button … she has to take control of that.” She believes women have to take control in their own lives and do what they need to do and garner the support of their partners and family members.
In the podcast Dr Maalouf emphasises the importance of self-education and community support. As a communications specialist she realised the first thing she had to do was to become as knowledgeable as possible on the disease, so she become a qualified diabetes educator. Diabetes affects all aspects of the body especially the fine veins, so a healthy diet and and an active lifestyle are essential for anyone with the condition.
“When you speak about diabetes or any non communicable disease, what we call the NCDs, the needs go beyond the physical needs. There is the physical health and the mental health, because the burden of the disease can take a huge toll on the person, on the mindset, on the mental well being of the person.”
Don’t expect support
Tough but realistic advice from Dr Maalouf especially for women juggling work and motherhood.
“Don’t expect support says Dr Maalouf, “because the higher your expectations of support, the greater your frustration will be. So do not expect support. Look for the support and the motivation from within you. If you have it great enough, you will get there.” This kind of advice is hard to hear but it also speaks to her resilience and that of other women in all sorts of cultures.
“In this case, my husband is Lebanese in the east, Middle Eastern culture, it’s not very common to see a woman with young children going back to university to study. So it wasn’t easy to convince him at first, but when he understood my motivation and why I wanted to do this, and how great it would be for the whole family, then it (resistance) became less, but then you have the external challenges, like the lack of support, but if you’re not expecting that support, then you don’t become frustrated and you have to find perseverance and persistence always from within you.”
Iraqi Women and Resilience
One of the most poignant parts of the podcast was where Dr Maalouf talked about a workshop she did in Iraq with women who had been through a lot. “Sharing some experiences with a group of Iraqi women after the war in Iraq, that was really powerful, because I was telling them about this. But if you think that I was addressing women who had lost their husbands, in some cases, their children, who had witnessed that happen, it wasn’t easy. And yet, the feedback I got after that workshop, I think, made not my day, made years of my life feel like so much worth it.”
No Limits To Abundance
Mindset is so important when it comes to setting goals and achieving your dreams no matter what part of the world you come from. Something that she has found true for herself in her lifetime is not setting limits. “What my experience has taught me is never to put limits, not to spending, not to earning, because life might surprise you with opportunities that if you grab them, you might go much further than you, yourself have ever dreamed, or the opposite. So try to deal with what you have in hands. And this is what I do, actually at the level of my own organisation, and it has worked wonderfully for me.”
Dr Jackie Maalouf DiaLeb
Dr Jackie Maalouf highlights the need for sustainable funding, relying on donations and volunteers. Dr. Maalouf shares the story of her career transition from public relations to diabetes education and her role as Vice President of the International Diabetes Federation. She advises on leadership challenges, the importance of passion, and the interconnectedness of health and sustainability. She talks about the importance of the UN Sustainability goals, about being involved with CATALYST and Dr Jackie Maalouf is well worth a listen.
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