Narrogin’s ‘No more Ngamari’ ball a success in taking a fresh and fancy approach to tackling smoking
Enjoying the ‘No More Ngamari’ ball were (back l-r) Shannelle Taylor, Jeremy Ugle (and front l-r) Marge Postaine, Resa Foai, Keith Taylor and Jahzara Hill.
Tackling smoking with style was the idea behind staging a community ball in Narrogin last month.
Vennessa McGuire, health promotion officer with WA Country Health in the Wheatbelt, came up with the idea because she wanted to try a different approach to promoting changes to the ‘Ngamari Free’ program.
The ball was open to anyone in the community, regardless of age or cultural background and entertainment was provided by members of a youth dance group.
Ms McGuire said she was delighted with the response to the event, particularly the fact such a diverse range of community members braved a cold night to attend.
“It was brilliant to see such a positive vibe on display at the ball which proved to be an effective way of signalling a change in the way we’re delivering the ‘Ngamari Free’ program,” she said.
“Most importantly the ball provided a great opportunity to celebrate our young people and a good stepping stone towards forging connections within the community to promote ‘Ngamari Free’.
“It was a great opportunity to talk to some young people in a completely different setting and to explore how to build on those connections in order to more widely promote my work,” said Ms McGuire.
The success of this event prompted questions about if and when the next one will be held.
“It really was a great evening to be part of which proved the value in trying different ways of tackling smoking in our local communities,” said Ms McGuire.