SPECIAL EXHIBIT: Self-expression through photographs and text . . . EIT health and wellbeing tutor Cherie Te Rore with IsaiahRuby Gray and Ruth Namana at the students’ advocacy exhibition in the Kuwatawata Gallery in Peel Street. 

 

A photographic exhibition at a new gallery in Peel Street has given 11 EIT students studying to become qualified support workers an opportunity to express their work and the driving forces behind it.

For some, the Photovoice project has spurred them on to even greater things, providing a focus for their vision.

The exhibition at Te Kuwatawata features symbolic photographs which, combined with text, are deeply moving.

Ruth Namana, for example, photographed the hands of her children. They were severely injured in an accidental fire. Supporting them during their long recovery process was also a recovery period for Ruth, who developed a passion for healthcare, with a secret dream of becoming a nurse.

Taking the photographs and talking about their meaning was a breakthrough for her, she said. Before that she could never talk about the accident or its aftermath without becoming teary-eyed.

The students were encouraged to work together, said Health and Wellbeing lecturer Cherie Te Rore.

Ruth worked with Isaiah-Ruby Gray, who also suffered some bad times in the past.

Her first photograph is of her hands holding those of her grandmother.

It was caring for her great-grandmother that made her realise how much she enjoyed doing this type of work.

She began working voluntarily at the local Alzheimer’s centre after embarking on the NZ Certificate Health and Wellbeing (Support Work) programme.

Her second photograph is of her footsteps in the sand, which she says symbolises her need to move on with the love and support of her family after the shock of losing her Papa, who was her father figure.

Both women are planning further studies this year, with the aim of applying to enrol in the Bachelor of Nursing degree programme next year.

Each of their classmates has their own story, as depicted by the exhibition.

To build on the confidence they have found through the project, they are being asked to address the next intake of students starting the programme next semester.

Six of the 12 students who completed the course have gone on to gain employment in the industry.

As well as providing the students with a setting to acknowledge real experiences of support and advocacy in their lives, the project was designed to boost literacy to help with further studies, said Cherie Te Rore.

More than half of the students who have been through the programme in the last three intakes have gone on to further study with EIT or in workplace-based training programmes.

Cherie has been invited to do a presentation about the project at the EIT symposium in Hawke’s Bay in September.

Ako Aotearoa – National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence provided financial assistance for the project, and has asked that the project be included in its training events over the next year.

The exhibition will stay on display at Te Kuwatawata for the next two months.

The gallery is part of a community support centre formed with support from Hauora Tairawhiti, Te Kupenga Net Trust and Pinnacle Midlands Health Network.