Karhioo, E. (2009, December ). Reframing physical activity programs for aboriginal communities. Well Spring, 20(6), Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B3pKQajHE5jJM2Q5YTYxYjItYjUyNC00ZDM5LTllNjEtMGJhOThlYzllNjNj&hl=en&ndplr=1&pli=1
This article starts of by explaining the importance of health and fitness in the world today. That because of all the fatty foods in our world, obesity is starting to grow more and more throughout our population. The author of this article explains that most of the population is starting to eat healthier, exercising more and starting to join more fitness programs (i.e. yoga, spin classes, running clubs.) With hope of getting their bodies in better shape. While the aboriginal population is more reluctant to join these programs because it either conflicts with their cultural practices or because they do not want to join the program, unless a majority of their peers do. The aboriginal population is "growing 6 times faster" (Karhioo, 2009) than non-aboriginals. Aboriginals are "2-3 times more likely to get diabetes" (Karhioo, 2009). It is important to start community programs that keep the aboriginals active and health conscious. The author gives examples of programs that the aboriginals might want to join and how to respect their cultures, while still adding in the necessary activities.
The main components of this article, is the concern for the health and well-being of the aboriginals. The author stresses that in order to get the aboriginals to join these programs, we must make the programs meet the needs of the community. We need to develop a recreational community that entails all of traditional aspects of the aboriginal culture. The four main components of the aboriginal culture is the health of the mind, body, heart, and spirit. As community developers we need to respect these components and build a program around this.
This article shows that there are numerous different communities out there with different beliefs. It is hard to make one program that will satisfy all the communities out there. It is important to get to know your community before you start to design a rec program for them. There are factors that every planner must investigate and analyze if they want this program to thrive in the desired community.
This article ties right in with community development because it is about encouraging aboriginals to join recreational programs and the importance of developing programs that respect their cultures. The community is the aboriginals, they all have their own beliefs and traditions. Our goal is to get the communities to join these recreational programs in hopes of getting them healthier and also expanding their borders in communication with other communities that are out there.
I agree with the this articles suggestion of appealing to the community's culture to illicit the change that would improve the lives of the people within the community. This includes specialized programs to each group based on supporting their values and beliefs. A good community development facilitator would be required to aid the change. As I am not part of a aboriginal community, I wonder if they receive the same messages as metropolitan areas of Canada regarding the dangers of obesity and need to be develop healthy lifestyles that include regular exercise and nutritional consideration? Providing the statistics and identifying where the support from the community would be coming from, I believe, would be the first step to seeing improvements in these communities.
ReplyDelete"It is hard to make one program that will satisfy all the communities out there. It is important to get to know your community before you start to design a rec program for them." This specific line of your post really stands out to me. It would be illogical to make a "one-size fits all" recreation program in a multicultural society. I agree that you have to be culturally sensitive to the different groups within a community. It is important to collaborate with the aboriginal community to discover what barriers they face to participation and what values are the most important to them. By working directly with members to develop effective programs is just a start though. I feel like to truly get the community involved in recreation it is important for both the community and the programmer(and/or facilitators) to learn from each other. I really think it is important to discover what is preventing people from doing something (or not doing something)and this is why I'm a big believer in collaboration. I strongly think that until the barriers are uncovered change will be a tougher process than it needs to be. It's not just about getting the community involved in the recreation programs but getting to know the community, understand how they function and why they function that way and then finding an innovative way to incorporate recreation into their way of life.
ReplyDeleteI didnt realize this about aboriginals but it is easy to see that when people are in shape and joining things like yoga classes and gyms that relationships develop and people are more confident with themselves; in return deveolpment with communities and relationships comes easier where as if people are staying home and not happy with their bodies then they tend to shut out others which is obviously not doing any good.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is really hard to make a program that will satisfy everyone! knowing your community so you realise what it needs and what the values are, are really imprtant to future growth. Great work on highlighting these points!
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