Post by Okwes on Mar 27, 2007 15:10:09 GMT -5
Manawan Seniors:
On the Path to Healthy Eating and Active Living!
Therese Quitich, 54, is a wife, mother, grandmother and CHR
who serves her fellow Attikamekw on the isolated reserve of
Manawan, Quebec. Like many CHR's across Canada, she
leads a busy, active life and finds immense fulfillment in her work.
She provides services to all age groups, but the seniors have a
special place in her heart. Their health, she firmly believes, is
intricately linked to what they eat. Therefore, she actively
promotes nutrition not only with the seniors, but places her
focus on the overall community.
When she began working as a CHR in 1994, statistics on
the poor state of health of Attikamekw seniors in Manawan,
Obedjiwan and Weymontachie reserves appalled her.
Among this population, there was a high rate of heart disease,
elevated cholesterol levels and type 2 diabetes. This
prompted the three communities to join together to hire a
nutritionist in 1997 to help effect change in the eating habits
of their people. Therese began working closely with the nutritionist,
Genevieve Mercier, and one of the first projects initiated by
all three communities was the development of a guide to
healthy eating with the seniors' input being part of the process.
This guide is unique because it is written in Attikamekw, the
principal language spoken in the community, and places their
traditional foods into the four food groups.
Some of these foods are moose, caribou, duck, geese,
local fish, and berries that grow in the area.
Therese has been resourceful in spreading the "nutritional
message". Some strategies she uses are:
* During the entire month of March, which is "Nutrition Month",
she speaks regularly about this topic on the local radio station
and people call in to comment or ask questions. This activity
has been so successful that she is planning to offer this public
forum monthly.
* She visits the seniors at their "Elders Camp" and holds
workshops on nutrition. This camp is situated in the woods
and the seniors love to go there! They put up their tents over
wooden frames that are already in place and live on the land
in close proximity to one another. In this picturesque setting,
they participate in healing circles and share their values
with other generations of Attikamekw. The camp is the
sight of an annual gathering where seniors from Obedjiwan
and Weymontachie camp along with them and together, they
work towards re-finding and re-establishing their Attikamekw
values.
* Therese works on nutrition with seniors on an individual
basis by helping in menu planning and drawing up their
personal grocery shopping lists. She uses the healthy eating
guide to recommend what to eat at meals and snack times.
* Seniors invite her to visit them in their homes to talk
about nutrition.
Has Therese seen an impact in all of her hard work?
She feels that a change is indeed taking place. She gives the
example of a man afflicted with heart problems, high cholesterol
and diabetes whose eating habits was making him sicker.
With her guidance, he changed his diet so that it included more
grains, less fat and sugar. At first, he was not happy about making
such a grand change - sometimes he got mad at her when
she tried to help him! One year later, he feels better, can run
and walk longer distances than before and hasn't had any
problems with his heart since last April. Other seniors who
have made a change in their diet give similar testimonies:
they are less tired, can concentrate more, are less out of
breath, and are generally much more active. Some diabetics
who made the change to better eating have improved their vision!
This path to healthy eating is quite an accomplishment and its
link to the improvement of health in this community looks promising.
Therese captures the essence of what good nutrition means when
she says,
"Nutrition is the basis of health and affects everything you do."
On the Path to Healthy Eating and Active Living!
Therese Quitich, 54, is a wife, mother, grandmother and CHR
who serves her fellow Attikamekw on the isolated reserve of
Manawan, Quebec. Like many CHR's across Canada, she
leads a busy, active life and finds immense fulfillment in her work.
She provides services to all age groups, but the seniors have a
special place in her heart. Their health, she firmly believes, is
intricately linked to what they eat. Therefore, she actively
promotes nutrition not only with the seniors, but places her
focus on the overall community.
When she began working as a CHR in 1994, statistics on
the poor state of health of Attikamekw seniors in Manawan,
Obedjiwan and Weymontachie reserves appalled her.
Among this population, there was a high rate of heart disease,
elevated cholesterol levels and type 2 diabetes. This
prompted the three communities to join together to hire a
nutritionist in 1997 to help effect change in the eating habits
of their people. Therese began working closely with the nutritionist,
Genevieve Mercier, and one of the first projects initiated by
all three communities was the development of a guide to
healthy eating with the seniors' input being part of the process.
This guide is unique because it is written in Attikamekw, the
principal language spoken in the community, and places their
traditional foods into the four food groups.
Some of these foods are moose, caribou, duck, geese,
local fish, and berries that grow in the area.
Therese has been resourceful in spreading the "nutritional
message". Some strategies she uses are:
* During the entire month of March, which is "Nutrition Month",
she speaks regularly about this topic on the local radio station
and people call in to comment or ask questions. This activity
has been so successful that she is planning to offer this public
forum monthly.
* She visits the seniors at their "Elders Camp" and holds
workshops on nutrition. This camp is situated in the woods
and the seniors love to go there! They put up their tents over
wooden frames that are already in place and live on the land
in close proximity to one another. In this picturesque setting,
they participate in healing circles and share their values
with other generations of Attikamekw. The camp is the
sight of an annual gathering where seniors from Obedjiwan
and Weymontachie camp along with them and together, they
work towards re-finding and re-establishing their Attikamekw
values.
* Therese works on nutrition with seniors on an individual
basis by helping in menu planning and drawing up their
personal grocery shopping lists. She uses the healthy eating
guide to recommend what to eat at meals and snack times.
* Seniors invite her to visit them in their homes to talk
about nutrition.
Has Therese seen an impact in all of her hard work?
She feels that a change is indeed taking place. She gives the
example of a man afflicted with heart problems, high cholesterol
and diabetes whose eating habits was making him sicker.
With her guidance, he changed his diet so that it included more
grains, less fat and sugar. At first, he was not happy about making
such a grand change - sometimes he got mad at her when
she tried to help him! One year later, he feels better, can run
and walk longer distances than before and hasn't had any
problems with his heart since last April. Other seniors who
have made a change in their diet give similar testimonies:
they are less tired, can concentrate more, are less out of
breath, and are generally much more active. Some diabetics
who made the change to better eating have improved their vision!
This path to healthy eating is quite an accomplishment and its
link to the improvement of health in this community looks promising.
Therese captures the essence of what good nutrition means when
she says,
"Nutrition is the basis of health and affects everything you do."