News and Events

2007 Media Releases

Bendigo student’s work with Tibetan nuns and drought-stricken families recognised

A La Trobe University student has won a prestigious industry award for her health promotion work with groups as diverse as Tibetan nuns and drought-affected families in Central Victoria.

Julie Priest, who is completing a Masters of Health Science at La Trobe’s Bendigo campus, took out the Australian Health Promotion Association’s 2007 Victorian Health Promotion Student of the Year Award.

Glenda Verrinder, post graduate coordinator of La Trobe’s School of Public Health, Bendigo, says she is thrilled by Ms Priest’s win.

“It’s not just about academic performance; it’s about other attributes – commitment and achievement,” she said.

Ms Verrinder says the award is also a pat on the back for the La Trobe University staff who encouraged Ms Priest’s application.

Ms Priest was recognised for her work in providing health kits to Tibetan nuns, helping create a community network to support families in Central Victoria, and her role in planning a Community Expo in Bendigo showcasing community care options for people who want to stay in their own homes.

Whilst there may seem few similarities between the work she did in Nepal and that in Central Victoria, Ms Priest disagrees.

“The values and concepts underpinning health promotion remain the same regardless of the setting – social justice, equity, meaningful participation, inclusive partnership and appropriate access,” she said.

It was Ms Priest’s long-standing interest in Buddhism that led her to undertake a month-long meditation retreat in Kathmandu in 1999. The idea to work with the nuns in the exiled Tibetan community at Kopan soon followed.

“The nuns don’t have much at all,” Ms Priest says, “I wanted to do something tangible”.  On her return to Australia she partnered with Women’s Health Loddon Mallee and local women to create health promotion kits to distribute to the 400-strong nunnery.

“The kits included items we would take for granted here in the West. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, antiseptic, bandages, and first aid items; articles the nuns could use on a daily basis to promote their own health.”

Ms Priest is also proud of her involvement in the development of the Mount Alexander Community Children’s Network, which aims to link and support early year services and providers with the community to promote better health for children and their families.

Ms Priest says the drought has made the network even more vital. “It (the drought) affects the way parents parent, and the way communities come together and help each other.  When you have stress in families there is also an increased risk of anxiety and depression impacting on the ability of families to function effectively”.

“The network is looking at ways to better support families in the shire … it might be something as simple as establishing a playgroup in an affected area.”

Ms Priest is currently working towards a Masters of Health Science and plans to begin a Doctorate of Public Health in 2009. She says studying at La Trobe has “stimulated my thinking and interest in research, and gave me the opportunity to develop a fresh approach to contemporary practice, inspired by local and international perspectives”.

Further information:

Sally Routledge T: 03 5444 7374 M: 0408 357 972 E: s.routledge@latrobe.edu.au