Moving Forward Together in Aboriginal Women's Health: - Theses ...

Moving Forward TogetherJanet Kellyspoke with other women in their community networks and asked what theywould like from a women’s friendship group.The group beginsIn term two of 2006 the Women’s Friendship Group began 39 . The Aboriginalwomen co-researchers invited women they knew through the Primary School,gardening group and Gilles Plains Community Campus. We began meeting onMonday’s and over the next six months between three to ten people attendedeach week. There was a core group of the four Aboriginal women coresearchers,five other Aboriginal women who attended from time to timedepending on other priorities and transport availability, a family of Maoriwomen, and two Non-Aboriginal community women, and me.Our first group activity was strengthening the collective vision of how thegroup would run. A group agreement was discussed and written on butcher’spaper. The women envisioned a flexible, casual atmosphere, where people feltsafe and supported; a space to meet, relax, talk, do craft together, to just be, toleave feeling better then when you arrived (WFG M1). A place where women’sown knowledge is valued, not just outside expert knowledge (WFG M1).We drafted a $1000 budget on butcher’s paper, allocating money for catering,arts, crafts and transport. The women decided to have monthly meetings toreview how the group was going, based on the community health gardeninggroup that functioned well as a grass roots program 40 . We also discussedhaving a negotiation rather than conflict intention (concepts from Family Wellbeing)and that we would try to work in with other services on campus ratherthan compete with them. For example, some participants did wish to attend theAboriginal diabetes group held fortnightly at the same time, so we structuredthe group around those times. Two of the women who attended said that theyhad never attended a group before, outside of family meetings (WFG M1) andthat they found the negotiations involved in setting up a group very interesting.39 Taking action - the group begins40 The women had enjoyed attending the Friday community gardening group but now the timesclashed with the Friday Nunga lunch at the Aboriginal Outreach Health Service.183