Week 4a: We are who we need.

Leave a comment

An outstanding new blog from Sar ginen Guåhan! Mahalo Sar for sharing your passion and emotion to the subject of decolonizing social work practice!

SarginenGuåhan

Meyer quotes many other kumu and
practitioners in her article – were there any quotes that resonated with you
and why?

Two quotes particularly
resonated with me.

The first quote was in theme
one, Spirituality and Knowledge: The Cultural Contexts of Knowledge

“I’m
really deeply connected to my mother and ancestors and all the Hawaiians that
came before us. And in me I have some of that cellular, molecular structure and
memory of long ago. How comforting!”
(Ho‘oipo DeCambra, 8 March 1997)

I
loved this particular quote given the context of the readings and reflections
of indigenous epistemology. It came at the right timing. This quote resonated
with me and it reminded me of something important.

If I
stop judging my “credibility” or “quantifications” as an indigenous person,
this quote is exactly what I would say to myself and something I would truly
embrace. Except it would be in the…

View original post 1,183 more words

Radio New Zealand (RNZ) Interview: Integrating Native Hawaiian Healing practices into Primary Care

Leave a comment

In June 2019, I had the privilege of attending the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA) conference at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, Aotearoa.  I presented on a panel with two outstanding students from the University of Washington, Christine Sun and Jessica Hernandez.  My presentation was on integrating Native Hawaiian health practices into primary care based on my work in Waimanalo.  This was my first trip to Aotearoa and it was absolutely wonderful.  I know I will be back to visit my Maori cousins.

I was also glad to know that the presentation was audiotaped and that it was aired on RNZ, public radio.  If you’d like to hear excerpts from the presentation, click the link below.

RNZ interview with Dr. Mike Spencer 

In developing countries, climate change is destroying our communities first

Leave a comment

Air, water, food and resources=heath and well being. Climate is a serious determinant, among other things.

Media Diversified

Growing up without running water in Kabanana Compound, a community on the outskirts of Zambia’s capital, Beatrice Phiri discusses how she got to see first-hand the dramatic effects of climate change.  

Much of my life has revolved around the pursuit of water.  Living in my community was challenging because we all endured the difficult task of fetching water. For most families, this was the responsibility of the girls and women. So from the age of 15, it was my duty to ensure my family had enough water for the day.

I had to wake up as early as 4am and walk 20 minutes for this task. My family and I had to use as little water as possible so that we would save most of it for drinking and cooking. I was usually exhausted by the time I made it to class, which began at 7am.

Fetching water always…

View original post 556 more words

Final Project

Leave a comment

An outstanding blog from Carolyn Scorpio!

Carolyn's Social Work Blog

Reflections on Social Work with Immigrant and Refugee Communities

According to most recent estimates by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are approximately 65.6 million people around the world who have been forcibly displaced as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations—marking a record high in the world’s forcibly displaced population. Of those, 22.5 million are categorized as refugees, 40.3 million are internally displaced, and 2.8 million are seeking asylum. Over half (51 percent) are children. More than half of all refugees under the UNHCR’s mandate are from just three countries: Syria (5.5 million), Afghanistan (2.5 million), and South Sudan (1.4 million), while 5.3 million Palestinian refugees are registered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2017).

My interest and experience in working with refugees, asylum-seekers, and other immigrant populations directly led me to the field of…

View original post 1,753 more words

Final Project: Photovoice exploring invisible disability

1 Comment

Check out this awesome post from Matoaka Kipp on invisible disabilities!

Matoaka's 697 Blog 2018

Some Background:

I am so appreciative for the opportunity to capture the meaning of invisible disability within photovoice. Engaging in a final project that allows me to highlight invisible disabilities, especially felt extremely significant.

During my project process, I made a difficult decision to re-route my final project. While I was gathering participants over a month ago, people were excited to be engaged and eager to share their stories, as well as connect with others who share similar experiences of invisible disabilities. However, as we have approached finals, many of the participants I originally connected with, shared that they could no longer participate due to the stress of finals and needing to take care of themselves. Though I am not sure about the disabilities that each of the participants had, I was so appreciative at their strength in letting me know that they were at capacity.

Therefore, using the framework…

View original post 2,724 more words