Unick’s story

Unick spoke about joining our CAPD(Culturally Appropriate Prevention of Diabetes) programme and how she has integrated it into her lifestyle.

She has felt in the past that such health-related programs were not suited to her lifestyle and therefore did not attend, at the expense of her own health. She talked to us about the importance of culturallyappropriate knowledge and how SähëlïHub has catered for this need in her community, allowing her to make real change in various aspects of her life including diet, exercise and her mental health.

“I began with SähëlïHub in February 2023, after I was referred by my GP. I was pre-diabetic and my blood pressure was high. I come every Wednesday, for the last two months. I was assessed after about a month: my blood pressure had come down, I had lost 1kg and my BMI came down slightly. What I like about it is when they [SähëlïHub] talk about the diet. I was amazed. I thought I knew it about diet, but I didn’t.

“SähëlïHub is awesome! The ladies are lovely. They are knowledgeable. As a health care worker (I am a registered nurse) you think we know, but we don’t. So it’s the little things like knowing about calories. It has been an eyeopener. Asia (SähëlïHub team member) is very good with diet. I have learnt a lot. They are all great. Fantastic! I think more people should be told. It’s like health coaching. The ladies that come are all trying. It’s preventative. It’s important to have this kind of knowledge and exercise as well. Now, if I am going to eat cornmeal made into a porridge, I know I just need to put a small amount. Before I used to put a mountain. Our culture, we put a lot of food. That is how people feel they are welcome. It’s all about food. So food can poison and it can be medicine. It’s been explained [at SähëlïHub] so great. Now I choose what I want to bake and substitute the sugar. People need to know.

“When we do crochet, it’s so relaxing. I’m going to [start] cycling too. Next week I will do cycling, crochet and exercise.

“[SähëlïHub] is a wonderful thing. My sleep used to be disturbed. SähëlïHub has made me think about my life. My health. Prevention and health is everybody’s business.”