Explorations of Health in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Low-income Suburbia

Engagement and the Nonprofit Organization: Voices from the Margins

“…At the same time, the CCA offers a lens to scrutinize the intersections between localized cultures and organizational structures and how these constitute agentic capacities of individuals and communities (Dutta, 2016). This study builds on previous CCA research that shows how localized social and economic contexts influence access to health-enhancing resources (e.g., Dutta, 2014; Elers et al, 2020) and suggests that developing communication infrastructures that enable voice and listening can serve as an anchor for nonprofit organizations seeking to engage with people situated at the margins in suburban Aotearoa New Zealand. This study is intended to serve as an entry point to listening to the voices of marginalized residents in Glen Innes and to inform the delivery of local nonprofit services in ways consistent with local cultural frameworks and needs.…”

Media narratives of kindness − a critique

“…Displacement has been witnessed in various contexts, including among low-income Bangladeshi and migrant workers in Singapore ( Dutta, 2017b ) and rural populations in India ( Pal and Dutta, 2013 ) and China ( Sun and Dutta, 2016 ). In New Zealand, many Māori (Indigenous peoples) moved to urban sites in the 1950s ( Harris, 2004 ), and recent interviews in these low-income areas have identified struggles in affording healthy food, healthcare and housing ( Elers et al, 2020 ).…”

“…In addition, millions of migrant workers in India have already travelled from cities to rural villages ( Mahbubani, 2020 ), posing the risk of further spreading the virus to areas with underdeveloped healthcare infrastructures. To date, New Zealand has a relatively low number of coronavirus cases, but the overcrowding in some low-income Pasifika households in suburban Auckland ( Elers et al, 2020 ) leaves these communities more vulnerable. Furthermore, residents in a low-income area in Palmerston North have identified challenges in accessing healthcare and health information during the recent coronavirus lockdown ( Dutta, 2020a ), which has been echoed in ongoing interviews conducted with other low-income groups in New Zealand.…”