Today we are speaking with a previous guest, Jules who was on the airwaves way back on our second ever podcast show. Jules is a naturopath of close to 15 years, based near beautiful Byron Bay. Her biggest area of interest is in helping women overcome various levels of fatigue and biochemical glitches. She even refers to her work as detective work, as many clients have already been to see other naturopaths and come to her with unresolved issues. In this episode we are talking about her incredible aid work across the globe, and how you too can make a huge difference by paying it forward.

One year ago almost to the day, Jules Crowd Funded an aid trip to a refugee camp in Greece. She was totally blown away by the generosity of all those that gave to this amazing cause. She ended up travelling with a team of around 30 doctors, naturopaths, nurses and other specialists. Little did she know, she would receive a call from one of the organisation directors, inviting her to also be involved in humanitarian work in Fiji. However, her first thought was “I wonder what they need in Fiji?”

The poor levels of nutrition in Fiji

Jules’s eyes have been well and truly opened to just how little is known about nutrition, in communities across Fiji. Jules even called it to be like an Australian 1980’s diet on steroids! In fact, those with diabetes, (which is almost 1 in 3 people) have been advised by the government, to not consume root crop vegetables, such as taro and other high carb crops.

While this is somewhat correct advice, the root crops are then replaced with 2-minute noodles with zero nutritional value. While these locals are likely ignoring their gut instinct, they just don’t have the education to make better choices about the foods they are consuming.

Their diets are very high in processed foods and loaded with sugar and soft drinks. It wasn’t long until Jules learned that one in every three locals have diabetes in Fiji.

From nursing homes to orphanages, women and children’s housing centres, and primary schools on remote islands, Jules, and her team’s impact was felt far and wide. Through the many connections that she made during this trip, she has been able to establish a close relationship with many of the local Fijian aid organisations.

Past the 5-Star glamour

What captivated Jules so much was learning that out the back of a fancy 5 star Sheraton resort on one particular island, was a dormitory style accommodation for around 100 to 120 of the staff from the hotel. These were for all the staff that lived on islands too far away and couldn’t possibly commute daily via boat.

A health check on some of these staff members revealed a real need for nutritionists and naturopaths and also revealed the flip side of the tourism industry. Jules gained a whole new perspective on the untouched parts of this tropical paradise not often seen by the eyes of tourists and honeymooners in Fiji.

Jules describes the living arrangements for the staff as comparable to a FIFO worker. This means every staff member is away from their family, for long periods of time, which helps to explain why they have an instant attachment to Western children that visit Fiji with their parents.

Despite the struggles, locals have huge hearts 

Jules aid work has been accepted with open arms by the local Fijians. When she visits to carry out her aid work, she instantly feels a part of a big family. Particularly during her home stays, her hosts would ask her when she would next be “home” so that dinner could be prepared in time. She recalls countless moments, that were so heart-warming and eye-opening. It’s clear to Jules that family values mean everything in Fijian culture.

A perspective on Jules’s community work

Each trip encompasses a new set of goals to be achieved. In her time at the local primary schools, Jules was able to run an entire health lesson for the children, along with health checks on the teachers. Her future goals include running education classes for the teachers after-hours, allowing them to then pass this valuable information onto the children.

The Hut Community was a whole other kettle of fish. This is a local shelter for those that cannot afford accommodation. Jules was shocked at the most basic of health needs that are not being met. Her work here encompassed a full transition in her approach to a more medical based model, where she had to put out multiple spot fires.

Her work involved:

  • Infection control
  • Foreign skin diseases
  • Blood sugar readings so high that her machine wouldn’t register them
  • Blood pressure readings of 200 (In Australia you would call an ambulance)
  • Advanced cases of scabies
  • Many other mystery medical conditions

It was hard to not recognise the link between the locals’ state of health, and diets so high in Western introduced refined foods.

The low down on high-sugar diets

Jules was able to get in contact with the director of That Sugar Film, Damon Gameau to obtain a few copies of his movie. This helped to show the locals the reality behind the foods they were innocently consuming every single day. The practical side of this module involved Jules placing sugar inside a ziplock bag, and handing over their can of baked beans, fruit juice or other product super high in sugar.

These little exercises helped the locals to understand just how many products have high levels of hidden sugars. The information passed across by Jules is a lot of the time, the very first word they have heard of many of their foods being full of sugar, which brought about a lot of shock.

Major resorts get behind Jules’s community work

One of the most amazing things to come out of all of Jules’s hard work is that she now has Sheraton backing her incredible projects, and have even invited her to personally educate all of their staff across their multiple resorts in Fiji, including The Western, The Sheraton and Marriot Resorts.

All about Crowdfunding

There seems to be a lot of mistrust out there towards many large aid organisations. That’s why it’s so refreshing to see just where donations are being spent, with Jules diving into the heart of the community work.

With her Greece Crowd Funding trip, in particular, she had her airfare covered within 48 hours, which she admits still brings tears to her eyes today. Each and every contributor to the organisation can physically see the Facebook posts, videos and blog posts covering where that contribution went too. This is one of the many beautiful aspects of Crowd Funding.

How can I help out?

For any listeners that are doctors, nurses, naturopaths, physios, nutritionists or dieticians available to travel, Jules would love to hear from you! Though for most listeners that are not able to embark on international aid trips, get in touch with Involvement Volunteers International  (IVI), who can inform you exactly how you can contribute right from home.

You can even start at a local, grassroots organisation level nearby, as there’s always someone in your community that needs help. Once you have your eyes open, you’ll find so many great people doing incredible things for those that are less fortunate than others.

You’ll be so surprised at how many organisations will happily fulfil your desire to pay it forward. So go on! Reach out to Facebook groups, RSPCA, Meals on Wheels or local church groups and find out how you can help.

Anything you do to give back will ignite soo many warm and fuzzy emotions that will simply change your life for the better. It can become all too easy to naturally get sucked into your own world, through the busyness of life, but you can always make the time to reach out and leave a long-lasting legacy.

Jules- “Just pick somebody and make their day!”

Through our time with Jules, we see just how vital education about nutrition is, for leading a long and healthy life. We are reminded of the importance of giving back to those in need, and how a kind gesture or donation of your time can make such a big difference in this world.

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