Rishoniy Caine, a 44-year-old Bundjalung woman, has developed an innovative program that’s managing diabetes. She incubated it in Collarenebri, a rural town in New South Wales where she grew up. Caine used her own experiences as a nurse in the contested Kimberley and Cape York communities. To overcome these barriers, she created a pilot program that structures Indigenous knowledge, local resources, and community support to empower participants to improve their health. Her initiative has already achieved stunning outcomes. Not only is everyone losing impressive amounts of weight, but folks are getting much better control of their blood sugar.
Since coming into the program, Caine has lost close to 60 pounds. She’s managed to get her blood sugar levels down into the normal ranges. She goes on to highlight that people should be able to work out with what they have available, whether that’s a can of food or a rock. This flexible, convenient model brings physical activity within reach. It pushes participants to maximize the resources in their ecosystems.
A Focus on Cultural and Community Connection
Caine’s community-centered program, which now has 29 participants, seeks to regrow community ties and cultural connections as it improves physical health. She has incorporated teachings from Aboriginal elders on bush tucker and traditional medicine into the curriculum. This provides participants an opportunity to engage with their culture in a way that’s restorative and beneficial to their mental health.
“People are becoming healthier, they’re losing weight, they’re happier, their mental health has improved,” – Rishoniy Caine
For a community like Collarenebri, fresh food is already extremely inaccessible. As a result, doing the hard work to center community support from the beginning is key. More importantly, Caine understands the challenges healthy living poses in rural communities. He focuses on the fact that residents instead face high hurdles to find healthy food choices.
“If you can imagine the nearest town is 1,000 kilometres away, it can be very challenging to get fresh food. It’s almost non-existent,” – Rishoniy Caine
Students in Caine’s program, like Kellie Henderson pictured above, have gained a new sense of purpose and optimism thanks to this program. Henderson describes her experience as a “great big shock.” She does not want to go back down that road of bad habits.
Practical Tools for Long-Term Change
Ultimately, Caine hopes that by providing more tangible tools and support to people, they can make healthier choices and create lasting change in their health behaviors. Many of her patients have previously been told to stop eating familiar foods in favor of medication without receiving proper guidance or resources for sustainable change.
“Many of my patients are told to stop eating the foods they know and take tablets, but they’re not given the tools or support to make long-term change,” – Rishoniy Caine
Caine’s program teaches participants that taking charge of their health is management 101. She takes every opportunity to walk right beside them on their path to More Active Caucus. She encourages creativity in exercise and nutrition by advising participants to use everyday items for workouts and explore local foods.
“I’m not asking people to buy expensive weights, I’m asking them to get that can of food out of your cupboard and use that,” – Rishoniy Caine
Henderson appreciates Caine’s method as well. Any time she has a question or concern about her health journey, Caine provides straightforward and transparent answers.
“If something’s worrying me, I’ll just ask Rishoniy and she’ll explain the good and the bad of it. She’s been honest and has explained things to me in a way that I could actually understand,” – Kellie Henderson
Looking Ahead
In July, Caine presented her prototype at the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association’s annual national conference. She’s doggedly convinced that her program can serve as a template for other communities across Australia facing similar issues. She imagines a world where individuals are empowered to reclaim their physical wellbeing. In this future, they’re not just deepening their technical capacities—they’re deepening their mental and spiritual ties to each other in community.
“If you don’t look after your body, your mind is not well, and if you don’t look after your mind then your spirituality and connection to your community and your culture is not well either,” – Rishoniy Caine
