It's infectious
Mihi Austin loves being Maori and working in the health area. It infiltrates everything she says and
does and her passion for it is simply infectious.
Mihi works for one of the country's largest Maori health provider organisations based in Auckland.
'Our focus is on health promotion but we see ourselves as supporting Maori development across the
(5) board. We are driven by what we believe are our rights - it's our right as Maori to have good oral health
care, it's our right to have good hospital care, these are our rights as citizens of this land. That is what
we promote and encourage.'
Mihi staunchly believes that Maori health providers have made a big difference to Maori health. A good
example is Rikki. 'I used to hang out with my mates rather than go to school. I smoked heaps and ate
(10) junk food. By the time I was 17 I was in a real bad way - overweight, unfit. Thanks to Mihi my life
changed and because of her I wanted to change my lifestyle - I went back to school, stopped smoking,
ate properly and slowly got fit. I felt better about myself, stronger as a person and now i feel really
proud of what I have achieved.
I feel good about being Maori, and because of people like Mihi I'm now working with Maori kids in a
(15) Maori way. I'm helping them feel good about being Maori too.'
And that approach appears to have got people off thier bums. 'We've helped to change behaviorus and
expose Maori to opportunities they may not have heard about or been interested in before. We've
provided access and choice to whole communities of people,' says Mihi.
We've made Maori come together. We're celebrating being Maori, and getting healthy and fit messages
(20) across at the same time. Now that's a real health outcome for me - it's about measuring how good
Maori feel about being Maori and we've definitely contributed to that.
'Change can only come from us. We know information is power. We work no the basis that if we
inform a hundred people, they'll inform a hundred more and so on. Then we begin to take back a bit of
power over our lives and make changes we want as people of the land.'
Questions:
Read the article shown above and answer the questions that follow.
a) Identify the pun in the first paragraph.
b) Explain the meaning of the phrase 'across the board' in the lines 4-5.
c) According to the article, how has Mihi made a significant difference to Rikki's life?
d) Explain in your own words, what Mihi means in the final paragraph when she says that 'information is power'.
ANSWERS
(NCEA Level 1 English revision guide. 2007 edition, Really Useful Resources, pg. 36)
does and her passion for it is simply infectious.
Mihi works for one of the country's largest Maori health provider organisations based in Auckland.
'Our focus is on health promotion but we see ourselves as supporting Maori development across the
(5) board. We are driven by what we believe are our rights - it's our right as Maori to have good oral health
care, it's our right to have good hospital care, these are our rights as citizens of this land. That is what
we promote and encourage.'
Mihi staunchly believes that Maori health providers have made a big difference to Maori health. A good
example is Rikki. 'I used to hang out with my mates rather than go to school. I smoked heaps and ate
(10) junk food. By the time I was 17 I was in a real bad way - overweight, unfit. Thanks to Mihi my life
changed and because of her I wanted to change my lifestyle - I went back to school, stopped smoking,
ate properly and slowly got fit. I felt better about myself, stronger as a person and now i feel really
proud of what I have achieved.
I feel good about being Maori, and because of people like Mihi I'm now working with Maori kids in a
(15) Maori way. I'm helping them feel good about being Maori too.'
And that approach appears to have got people off thier bums. 'We've helped to change behaviorus and
expose Maori to opportunities they may not have heard about or been interested in before. We've
provided access and choice to whole communities of people,' says Mihi.
We've made Maori come together. We're celebrating being Maori, and getting healthy and fit messages
(20) across at the same time. Now that's a real health outcome for me - it's about measuring how good
Maori feel about being Maori and we've definitely contributed to that.
'Change can only come from us. We know information is power. We work no the basis that if we
inform a hundred people, they'll inform a hundred more and so on. Then we begin to take back a bit of
power over our lives and make changes we want as people of the land.'
Questions:
Read the article shown above and answer the questions that follow.
a) Identify the pun in the first paragraph.
b) Explain the meaning of the phrase 'across the board' in the lines 4-5.
c) According to the article, how has Mihi made a significant difference to Rikki's life?
d) Explain in your own words, what Mihi means in the final paragraph when she says that 'information is power'.
ANSWERS
(NCEA Level 1 English revision guide. 2007 edition, Really Useful Resources, pg. 36)