Helping hand … Volunteers have helped set up a foodbank for indigenous people at Victoria University. 57761
By Belinda Nolan
That’s something researchers at Victoria University have discovered.
The university has developed a new peer mentoring project to improve the health of the West’s Indigenous residents.
The program uses trained Indigenous volunteers who encourage members of their community to quit smoking, eat healthier and be more active.
Since being introduced earlier this year the program has already seen the establishment of a free food bank, two netball programs and an anti-smoking initiative.
Dr Gail Paasse, a researcher at the university’s centre for diabetes said that peer mentoring had proven effective because it was already an important part of Indigenous culture.
“There’s no point just bringing in dieticians and doctors, or handing out gym passes,” Dr Paasse said.
“We found peer mentoring effective because it’s culturally relevant, less formal and based on a more equal relationship.”
The volunteers were fully trained in first aid, physical activity, leadership, food hygiene, photography and techniques to quit smoking.
The participants have also begun forging close ties, meeting for weekly netball games and collecting fresh fruit and vegetables from Victoria University’s St Albans campus garden.
