 |
One of the things that defines a culture is food. Australian South Sea Islander culture is no exception. Ling, a dietician, came face-to-face with this cultural pattern.
I'd recently come to the town and hadn't had much to do with Australian South Sea Islanders. I was committed to being culturally sensitive, so I researched the culture a little bit. I'd read that many Islanders in this community liked simple, traditional food – fish, rice, taro and so on. The younger Islanders also liked takeaway food.
I thought, fine, fair enough, I can work with that. I'll try to educate the community about fruit and veg, and hope it starts to catch on.
With the help of an Australian South Sea Islander representative, I organised some walks through the bush and some seminars in the church. Slowly, the events began to catch on.
Anyway, one day I had an appointment with an elderly Australian South Sea Islander gentleman.
I chatted with him for a long time – establishing trust. But I knew it would take more than one visit before the gentleman would let down his reserve.
I knew the gentleman received Meals-on-Wheels food every day. I asked him whether he thought Meals-on-Wheels were good meals. He said it was very good food.
I asked him why he was looking so undernourished and he said he didn't know.
'What about your meals?' I asked. 'Are you eating them?'
He looked uncomfortable and wouldn't say much more. I asked him to eat a balanced diet and gave him some advice, but I don't think I made much of an impression.
I remember at one point the gentleman said he 'Didn't want to be any trouble.' I didn't think much about it at the time but later in the week it occurred to me – maybe he was worried that, if he complained, he'd be blacklisted from receiving any further benefits.
Later that week I organised another appointment and asked the gentleman's son and daughter-in-law to attend.
Again I chatted with the gentleman about his diet. Again, he did not want to discuss Meals-on-Wheels.
I asked his son whether the meals were acceptable.
'It's good food,' said the son. 'But Dad likes simple food.'
It turned out that some meals, like chicken in white sauce, were unfamiliar to this particular client and he just wasn't eating them.
I also gathered that the gentleman didn't like the idea of getting hand-outs. He was extremely willing to receive help from his family. It was a matter of pride that his family looked after him.
But his son was a teacher in another town. He lived miles away. He brought food to his father every week but his father was too fragile to prepare anything for himself.
I had to think of something else to do.
What would you do for this particular client?
On a piece of paper, jot down some solutions to this situation.
When you're ready, select the Sensitive solutions button to find out how Ling actually solved this situation.
Ling's story shows how services are changing for the better – there are now more options than ever for Australian South Sea Islanders.
It also shows the cultural significance of food and feasts in Australian South Sea Islander communities.
Ling's story highlighted the reticence many Islanders feel towards asking for help. Let's further explore this reticence in Knowing what questions to ask.
Other languages