This season of SNACK has been produced by the Empaur, as part of the COTA Queensland Home Care Workforce Support Program which received grant funding from the Australian Government.
EmPauR is a Torres Strait Islander-owned business dedicated to fostering cultural understanding and empowerment within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Our mission is to bridge cultural divides, promote mutual respect, and create pathways for authentic engagement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals and organisations. Through comprehensive cultural awareness training, meaningful dialogue facilitation, and the honouring of Indigenous Elders, EmPauR serves as a guide for cultural resilience and empowerment, preserving and celebrating the rich heritage of Australia’s First Nations peoples.
LinkedIn Profile – Reggie Pau
Podcast Editor – Jacob Traficante Productions
EmPauR would like to advise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners that the following podcast may mention names of people who have gone before us into the stars and the dreaming. Empower acknowledges the Gimli Wallaby era in dingy people whose traditional lands this podcast has been recorded on. We pay our respects to the ongoing cultural connection that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to hold with the land, sea and wind.
00:50
Welcome to our Torres Strait series podcast, where we share information about some Torres Strait Island cultural protocols through talking to elders, family members and caregivers. Today we hear from Richie Pau, who has connection to the SAMSA cleanse of air in the eastern islands at the Torres Strait. He was born on Thursday Island with family origins tracing back to Arab and the cookery Island bachelor people. In today’s episode through the wisdom of elders, we are honored to hear from Arab Island elder uncle puoi Pincio and Badu Island at Bala Gerald Bailey on
01:25
topic one, unveiling beliefs and tradition, how can you give us an understanding on our topic this morning, around belief and tradition, our
01:34
beliefs is very different in terms of non Indigenous people believe, for example, I will use the scenario in an aged care setting or dietary for an indigenous elder. In your case, there are traditional foods and fruits and veggies and the different types of cooking different ways of cooking, that it’s good for the old people in your case, that will be good for the digest system, the immune system. So we have different types of fruit and veggies and meats and fish that we cooked and different types and the different, I suppose season that you you you cooked and give it to our elders for the longer tune of the of their life. So this is one a an example of the way we live are very different from a non Indigenous setting. Even in terms of educate or passing information, our beliefs, an aged care worker, non Indigenous individual or an organization, they must understand our way of living our belief, our way of practice our way of sharing information before you can ever start to look at how do you care for our elders.
02:54
In my My name is Gerald Bobby, I’m from Bartle from Klein of Oregon Walker is my age 48. This year, have worked in the government space for the last 20 plus years and my understanding of cultural cultural wisdom, cultural advice, I’m coming from a very vulnerable people when you when you mentioned h k. So we’ll protect that word H K. Because it’s it’s vulnerable. And our people are having difficulty understanding English stories or time because English is the language, but it’s very important, especially translating information as important to our elders and our people in El space.
03:45
Considering the hopes and expectation of an elder like yourself, what guidance would you provide to a non Indigenous carer to ensure they provide culturally sensitive care and
03:57
advice I would give a run the consideration and my expectations in terms of why you provide culturally sensitive care is you really need to understand our culture, you need to understand the way of life the way of living the way of passing information, the way how people communicate and how they accept you. So in terms of my reputation, unless the person that the caregiver looks after or giving care to or not accepting the patient, the client or the client and accept them that should be recognized at the forefront and look at other ways of providing the sensitive care because from an ethical point of view, we need that care that given to us it has to be appropriate in our rights and our sense. The advice would be the information in terms of care should be given to the caregiver by the family or by an elder in terms of how they’re going to provide care to the family. believe that responsible for the person within you Okay, so there’s three things I think the caregiver need to respect and understand about our culture. The first point is culturally acceptable, the acceptance has to come from both ways the caregiver have to accept the patient and the patient has to accept the caregiver and trust and respect it has to be accepted and established at the very outset before you can look at culturally appropriate terms of service provision. So, there are three key point I think you need to understand
05:32
when entering your remote region, remote communities, or remote indigenous people, these people need to undertake a number of series three, and one of them is awareness training for Torres Strait and Aboriginal now, we do have our cultural policy, we do have our cultural standard, and we have our cultural guard. So, it is important that this workers, co workers, bosses, managers, they get appropriate training and this guidelines and principles in place in in L LK organization, because that’s going to guide them through to do the job properly. And because did mention about English CELTA language, when you know this kind of guide work guideline, sorry, these people will have full understanding of each criteria, or each people, especially indigenous people, we have, we have sought so much so far, especially when communicating in different barriers.
06:41
Thank you, from your own personal experience and stories of care and kindness, what some of the insights or recommendation would you put forward for a non Indigenous carer to enhance and understand your practice in compassion for all,
06:57
I suppose the first point would be to, to involve the family from the very outset, along the continuum of care, the family has to be involved in all decision making. And they need to the family neutrally involved in terms of some portion of caregiving, in partnership with the caregivers. So there has to be a partnership in terms of the compassionate care, but the decision really need to be directed and given by the family. Because too often in indigenous process of continuum of care, whereby the service providers and organization are giving the care according to the to the policies and procedures, the red tapes, so called because the system killed our people. So from my personal experience working for government, in terms of managing caregivers, and service provision around managing policies and procedures, it’s a threat to indigenous people. So in in terms of practice of compassionate care, family and community has to involve 50% involvement in terms of providing service and care to our clients and our family.
08:15
This is very, very powerful. So when when we do look after welders in back of our mind, respect, we’re going to look after them. And that’s part of our belief, our policy and cause men showing love books, these people they hold values for, for traditional culture. And they be expecting that you got to respect them in many ways. So I My recommendation is those two things I’ve just mentioned, which need to be implemented into guidelines for those co workers are coming to ensuring that they get coffee all the time.
09:17
As we wrap up this deadly episode, we’ve journeyed alongside our elders getting profound insights into the significance of caregiving, as seen through the lens of their experiences, beliefs and hopes. We’ve uncovered a timeless legacy of caring with respect and kindness passed down through the generations. Join us for future episodes as we continue to explore the intricate tapestry of caregiving and its profound impact on lives. Funding for this podcast has been provided by the Council on the aging Queensland homecare workforce Support Consortium as part of the homecare workforce Support Program, which was funded through grant funding from the Australian Government
