Diabetes WA Aboriginal Health Coordinator KATHY HUET was part of a bold new initiative to train diabetes educators out on the Ngaanyatjarra Lands — one of the most remote parts of Australia, where diabetes care can be extremely difficult to access.
Running training out in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands was a completely new experience for me. We’d done the DESY training plenty of times before, but always in metro areas, never in such a remote setting. This was a whole different world, which made it exciting and challenging in equal measure.
One of the biggest hurdles for us was the language barrier. Many of the participants don’t speak English as their first language. We had to rethink how to get the content across. Our content has been carefully designed in consultation to be culturally safe, but when it came to actually running the sessions, we had to rethink some of our assumptions around simple things like timekeeping.
While we had planned to start and stop at particular times, we found that schedules had to bend and flex to fit the reality on the ground. Interruptions were constant — cars pulling up outside, people calling out, children running in and out. It wasn’t the structured environment I was used to, but we adapted.
Each night, we’d go back, regroup and plan for the next day. But no matter how carefully we planned, the day rarely went as expected. You couldn’t just show up and deliver training. One thing we hadn’t planned for was this unspoken responsibility to take care of the community Elders first—to make them a cup of tea in the mornings, fix them some toast and make sure they were comfortable. It’s just how things are done out there; the mob looks after their Elders and we had to step into that role when we were on their land.
They soaked up everything we taught, even though some of it was completely new to them.
What really stuck with me was how eager the participants were. They soaked up everything we taught, even though some of it was completely new to them. You don’t always know how the content is connecting with the participants, particularly when there’s a bit of a culture gap. One woman had been so quiet that we thought she was just doodling in her notebook, but it turned out she was meticulously writing down every word we said. It was incredible to see that level of dedication.
The training itself focused on equipping people to take what they’d learned back to their own communities—things like teaching kids in schools about healthy eating and better choices. But thinking about how they would share the knowledge they’d gained during training was really hard for some of them, especially if they had to do it in English. They could demonstrate concepts like how glucose works in the body, but translating that into teaching someone else? That was a challenge.
Still, we had a great mix of participants—from strong women in the community to health workers and educators—and that created a powerful dynamic. These people are the glue that holds their communities together, and now they have tools to create real change.
It wasn’t easy. The days were long and draining and by midweek, everyone—trainers and participants alike—was feeling the exhaustion. But we kept going, and by the end, there was a real sense of achievement.
For me, the most rewarding part was building connections with participants from such a remote part of Australia — an area where this sort of training hasn’t been run before. It was great listening to their stories and knowing that the information I was passing on could ripple through their communities. They’ve got the knowledge now and it’s just the beginning. We’ll check in, mentor them and hopefully secure funding to do more.
At the end of the day, it wasn’t just training—it was about meeting them where they are, respecting their ways and finding ways to make a lasting impact.
