12 Days of Christmas: Diabetes Auckland - giving Hope to people of many cultures

Ranbir Kaur Saini, pictured left with Diabetes Auckland Hope coordinator Iliana Fusitua, is educating South East Asian women about diabetes. Photo / Greg Bowker

The Herald is profiling 12 charities awarded $8333 grants from Auckland Airport's Twelve Days of Christmas programme – now in its 13th year. The $100,000 funding comes from generous travellers who donate money at the airport.

As a social worker for the NZ Sikh Women's Association working in family violence, Ranbir Kaur Saini noticed that some people in the homes she visited were unwell but didn't realise they had diabetes.

"It's because they hardly ever go to the doctor and in India there's not much awareness about diabetes," she says.

She contacted Diabetes Auckland and became one of four Indian "Hope Champions" who spread the word through community networks on how to prevent and manage type 2 diabetes in culturally appropriate ways.

At least a quarter of South Aucklanders have type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes. Pacific, Māori and South Asian people are most at risk.

Diabetes Auckland selects people who are already influencers and have strong connections with communities to be "Hope Champions". It also has three Samoan, one Tongan and one Niuean delivering the programme in South Auckland.

Saini, who also facilitates the Positive Parenting programme, was able to reach 2500 Indian women and children at a recent community event.

"Southeast Asian women are really at risk because we're not open about these things. If people have diabetes, they feel shy and start hiding. There's a lot of fear around diabetes. People think it's a death sentence and don't realise it can be managed and prevented through a healthy lifestyle.

"We actually see a lot of change as a result of these events. People feel comfortable with us because they know us - especially the older people, because we can speak their language. They also enjoy coming together in a familiar space to chat and share recipes. They can modify the way they cook so it's still Indian food but much healthier. For example, paratha is often cooked with a lot of oil. For the healthy version, you stuff the flat bread with mixed vegetables and then toast it in a tava, which is like a sandwich press, with just a little bit of oil."

The Sikh Gurdwara Sahib at Takanini, which provides free food for all comers, now offers sugar separate from tea and has fresh fruit as an option.

Hope co-ordinator Iliana Fusitua says Pasifika communities have similar issues to Southeast Asian communities in that people have migrated from nations where they weren't exposed to a lot of processed food. When they move to New Zealand, traditional ways of eating undergo radical change.

"When I talk with Pasifika people about diabetes, they tend to focus on sugary food like sweets, cakes and fizzy drinks but they don't realise that sugar also comes from the carbohydrates we have every day such as our island food like taro, cassava and yam," she says.

An impact report on the Hope programme in 2019 revealed more than 90 per cent of participants attended all four workshops, 90 per cent achieved healthy eating, 80 per cent increased physical activity, 70 per cent lost weight and 60 per cent reduced sugary drinks to nil.

Diabetes NZ plans to use the Auckland Airport grant to develop online training to pandemic-proof the programme and train more Hope champions.

To donate: https://www.diabetes.org.nz/donate