Unbound, an international nonprofit founded by lay Catholics and inspired by the principles of Catholic social teaching, has begun a partnership with researchers at the University of North Carolina and the Nebraska-based nonprofit Chronic Care International to analyze the health benefits that might arise from relationships between U.S. donors with diabetes and elderly Filipinos affected by the same condition.
The new program will pair U.S. sponsors who have been diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes with an elder in the Philippines; the program will include a contribution of $40 per month to the elder’s medical care over the course of one year. The U.N.C. researchers will administer at least three 30-minute surveys to the sponsors during the year. The Filipino people benefiting from the sponsorships will receive direct cash transfers in addition to medical coverage.
According to Unbound, “The research study provides regular lab tests, quarterly A1C tests [a measure of blood sugar levels], checkups and consultation, necessary medication, diet and exercise coaching to participating elders.”
Pritha Hariharan, chief of staff for Unbound, said that the purpose of the study is to “try to see if we could make diabetes care affordable.” But researchers are also interested in the ways in which the act of charitable giving might minister to the giver as well as to the recipient.
“Does the connection and the sense of community that comes from sponsorship, have a positive health outcome for the sponsor?” Ms. Hariharan asked. She noted that many people in the United States might not endure material poverty, but they may suffer from the spiritual poverty of loneliness.
She suggests that the health benefits that a connection with a Filipino elder could bring to a U.S. donor are almost as important as the medical impacts of sponsorship on the elders themselves. “We want to see if they will have a better health outcome with that increased sense of connection.”
Deshira Wallace, a leading investigator at U.N.C., phrased the research question in similar terms: “We are eager to learn if peer support plays a role in enhancing health and well-being. In short, can helping others help you, too?”
The issue of care for the elderly is expected to occupy an increasingly larger place in Unbound’s work over the coming years. Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60 years of age is projected to nearly double, from 12 percent to 22 percent; and by 2050, 80 percent of older people are likely to be living in low- and middle-income countries.
For elderly people in vulnerable circumstances, loneliness is expected to be a particularly acute problem. “All too often, loneliness is the bleak companion of our lives as elderly persons and grandparents,” Pope Francis said recently. “In many places, above all in the poorer countries, the elderly find themselves alone because their children are forced to emigrate.” A large component of Unbound’s mission is to foster human connection for these impoverished elders.
Tammy Marino, media relations manager for Unbound, told America that the organization strives to treat each beneficiary of its projects with “autonomy, humanity and dignity.” The prevalence of direct cash transfers is a testament to this focus. Rather than subjecting each beneficiary to a one-size-fits-all approach, direct transfers allow the recipients of Unbound’s aid to determine for themselves what they and their families most need.
According to the association’s website, “no one understands what a family needs to overcome their challenges better than that family.” The developing sponsorship program for Filipino elders follows this paradigm.
The project is still in its early phases, and Unbound, U.N.C. and Chronic Care International are still actively recruiting potential sponsors with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. U.S. residents interested in participating in the project should call 800-875-6564, extension 9, or email diabetes@unbound.org.
Unbound was established by Catholic lay people in 1981 with the aim, in the words of cofounder Bob Hentzen, of “freeing God’s people from hunger, from slavery, from pain.” In the 43 years since its establishment, the association has engaged in ministry across Africa, Asia and Latin America, with a particularly robust presence in Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines.
