I have always thought that it is ludicrous to treat health issues from an individual basis when the whole whanau could get behind an individual and help them to address the problem.
An example of this is the innovative way Whanganui and Nga Rauru are coming together in the pursuit of collective wellbeing.
Twenty two of our whanau have entered the challenge to see which iwi could lose the greatest proportion of weight.
The initiative was devised after the premature death of Henare Ngaia earlier this year, Sadly Henare died as a result of a heart attack. It was a wakeup call for many of our whanau, who made the commitment to take up the challenge to lose weight over the next three months.
Before anyone could participate they had to make sure they were well prepared and if they had not seen a doctor in the six weeks before starting they had to get a doctor’s clearance to enter.
What’s really impressive is that it’s a whanau thing – from those who are providing moral support with inspirational stories and quotes of the day to others helping with the physical support of taking up the challenge.
Each group has a supervisor and a support assistant and I am told by one of the organisers that participating as a group was decided because ‘as a people we are better at doing things as a group rather than an individual’ and I couldn’t agree more.
I have no doubt that this collective responsibility will lead to some amazing results and in fact just yesterday the Whanau iwi participants had their first weigh in and had lost more than eight kilograms in total. Wow!
I hope that this challenge will encourage all whanau to work towards maintaining a healthy balance in their lives, which I can tell you is no easy task. As you know this is an issue close to my heart and a challenge I have faced for many years so I know first hand what support is needed to help some of our whanau to stay on track and improve their health and wellbeing.
I am sure that Henare is smiling down on his whanau as they embark on this challenge.
His outstanding contribution to our community continues and this weekend’s Hui Aranga in Te Aute will be an opportunity to reflect on his life and remember his role as a driving force behind this event over the many years he was master of ceremonies.
