Muskaan Care Trust NZ’s “Protection Through Prevention” Community Vaccination team is recommended and awarded for Outstanding Achievement
– as Team Muskaan Care, Community Vaccination Champions” by Hon’ble Minister of Health Andrew Little at a Ceremony held at the New Zealand Parliament in Wellington.
Team Muskaan’s “Protection through Prevention” champions have played a key role in bridging the gap and supporting ethnic and minority communities to access healthcare since 2016.
During COVID pandemic, New Zealand was put under rigorous alert systems; Team Muskaan proactively mobilised resources within the communities and partner organisations to share information about COVID-19 in diverse languages. This was executed through partnership with community-led vaccination clinics across Auckland and other ethnic media channels. Activated volunteers provided peer and telehealth support to address the concerns of people who were vaccine hesitant. They also collated feedback from different communities to better inform the healthcare system and advocate for culturally appropriate care to improve public health messaging about COVID and the subsequent preventative measures that will safeguard the community’s health and wellbeing. The team also volunteered to offer support services i.e., access to vaccination centres and Manaaki support for families struggling to access food and other necessities.
Team Muskaan voluntarily initiated vaccination services in collaboration with Counties Manukau Health in 2019 and is gradually emerging as an outreach provider for health and wellbeing of ethnically diverse communities from Asian, South Asian and MELAA backgrounds.
Team Muskaan always advocated and fully support government announcement “More free flu vaccines and a second COVID-19 booster to groups at risk of hospitalisation” that widened access to free flu vaccines with an extra 800,000 New Zealanders eligible from this Friday, July 1
Muskaan Care also ramping up access to free flu vaccines and COVID-19 booster shots for those groups of people who are being admitted in increasing numbers to hospital, including children who can be innocent transmitters of the flu and infections to others in their family who are more at risk, so it makes sense to reduce transmission as soon and as much as possible. Muskaan Care is working in collaborations with other passionate community partners and agencies. The upcoming Community Vaccination clinics are with Disha Foundation NZ, Shri Ram Mandir Henderson, Ormiston Primary School, Sikh temple New Lynn and Manurewa to name a few.
As it’s a collaborative community effort we welcome and acknowledge a couple of local volunteers if you wish to. Businesses and institutions wish to make any contribution and are very welcome to contribute/donate giveaways and goodies at these community events to the community members.
Ministry of Health award honours individuals or teams of volunteers who have offered outstanding support and dedications to New Zealand’s COVID-19 response.
Vivek Vij, Chairperson Muskaan Care trust expressed his gratitude saying that it was such an honour and humbling experience, and we all are inspired by so much selfless work being done across Aotearoa. He said he wants to pay his profound gratitude to all Muskaan
Care Trust trustees, Team Muskaan Volunteers, Peer support, Consultants & Advisors, Sector and Community partners, collaborators, our community members management bodies at temples and schools & above all the blessings from Muskaan up from the Heavens that has driven us and made the “Protection Through Prevention” programme so successful. -TIN Bureau