Blog Layout
A Recipe for Resilience with Hummingly
latitude

Two women who have worked extensively in disaster recovery around the world share some tools for getting through COVID-19.


Lessons learned about resilience from the Christchurch earthquakes have not been forgotten by two women – Elizabeth McNaughton and Jolie Wills – who were both working for New Zealand Red Cross at the time.


Today, their wellbeing and resilience agency – Hummingly – is an acknowledged global leader in the field of disaster recovery. Together with Dr David Lallemant (founder of the Stanford Urban Resilience Initiative), they even wrote the canonical manual on the subject, Leading in Disaster Recovery: A Companion through the Chaos.


Elizabeth, based out of Wellington, likes to quip that her career has literally been built on a series of disasters, starting with the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. She has worked for large aid agencies and led disaster recovery efforts around the globe. She led the Red Cross earthquake recovery programme here, as well as a learning legacy project after the Christchurch earthquakes. Jolie is a Christchurch-based cognitive scientist who hadn’t originally chosen disaster as a career but observes that with the Christchurch earthquakes, disaster came looking for her, fuelling her research on psychosocial recovery from disaster and disruption.

A woman in a red shirt is giving a box to another woman

Having met through their Red Cross work during the Christchurch earthquakes, the two joined forces to develop some useful and practical disaster resilience tools. With support from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, they researched learnings on leadership through disaster and how people respond to – and get through – times of prolonged stress. Their ground-breaking work was recognised last year in a book released by Virgin Unite, founded by Richard Branson. Called the 100% Human at Work Initiative, it showcased new ways of working from businesses around the world.



Resources developed by Hummingly include ‘wellbeing snacks’ (short videos for building resilience in the workplace), the Doing Well card decks, Cards for Calamity and, most recently, the Pandemic Pack, chock full of tales, tips and tricks to make life a little easier. It distils accumulated wisdom on disaster recovery and offers real and practical advice. ‘We want to share what we have learned from having worked in disaster relief and looking into the experiences of hundreds of people and put that into the hands of others,’ says Elizabeth.


Hummingly is currently providing wellbeing and leadership workshops and resources in this region, as well as in Victoria, to support Bushfire Recovery (and recently sent 1000 Cards for Calamity packs to Victoria). ‘We’re also partnering with a company in the Netherlands on a Doing Well initiative. It’s very rewarding to discover that a small company like ours, at the bottom of the world, can really help make a difference.’


In today’s challenging world, it sometimes feels as though the whole planet is a disaster zone. Elizabeth and Jolie say prolonged stress can profoundly alter how we function as individuals and as a community, as people become increasingly tired and frustrated. ‘It is a tough time,’ Jolie says. ‘We can be the hardest judges of ourselves, but it’s normal to be feeling these things – it doesn’t mean you’re off-track.’


Neither of the two is immune from this current situation. Both are mothers and Jolie hasn’t seen her husband since January. His work involves being away in the US for extended periods and now he’s stranded there.


‘We’re separated by Covid,’ she observes. ‘And so Elizabeth and I too have our own pressures and we understand what everyone is going through…One of the greatest learnings for me personally from the Christchurch earthquakes is that time and energy are finite so it’s important to think about how to use your time and energy so it will have the greatest impact.’

Coping with Covid

Here are some of Hummingly’s helpful tips:


  1. Go easy on yourself
    Exhaustion and tiredness are to be expected in times like this. Do what you can to top up the tank, but remember to be kind to yourself and don’t set your expectations too high.
  2. Stay connected
    When we’re under stress and pressure, we tend to pull away. While we need to physically distance ourselves from others at the moment, that does not mean we should be socially distant. We know from experience and from research that the greatest support for people in disastrous times will be from friends, family members and trusted colleagues.
  3. Think about how you flavour ‘the pie’
    The pie, in this case, is your day – how Covid-flavoured is it? Think about what you value in life and what brings you joy and how to bring more of these ‘flavours’ into your day. While it is sensible to stay well-informed about the Covid situation, set some limits around that.
  4. Try a little kindness
    Right now, there are five million people in our team all doing their best to get through this difficult time. Imagine your energy as being contagious to others. Every time we thank someone or do something to lift someone’s day, we’re putting positive energy into the world and, because it’s contagious, that positivity will multiply.


hummingly.co


Words Kim Newth

Recent stories

A cookbook is sitting on top of a wooden stand on a kitchen counter.

How to Make an Adjustable Cookbook Stand

By Klaudia Krupa • May 22, 2024
With its sliding base, this stand can snugly hold any recipe card, tablet or cookbook – no matter how chunky or slim. Choose your favourite colours to ensure it is the perfect match for your kitchen or as a great gift idea. Plus, when it’s not in use, you can easily store both parts flat! What you need: 1 x 300 x 230 mm sheet of pine board, 18 mm thick (backboard) 1 x 300 x 150 mm sheet of pine board, 18 mm thick (baseboard) 1 x 120 mm pine dowel, 12 mm thick 2 x 40 mm pine dowels, 8 mm thick Drill and drill bits Drop saw Drop sheet Jigsaw or reciprocating saw Measuring tape Paintbrush and mini roller Resene testpots – we used Resene Gold Dust and Resene Apache Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel paint, tinted to your choice of colour – we used Resene Bokara Grey Resene Quick Dry waterborne primer Ruler Sandpaper Wood glue Step 1: Cut your wood to the sizes listed above. Step 2: Measure and mark out a 155 x 25 mm slot, positioned 40 mm up from the base of the backboard, as shown. Step 3: Drill a hole in each corner of the marked slot to give your saw a starting point. Then, use either a jigsaw or reciprocating saw to carefully cut out the slot. Step 4: Smooth out any rough edges with sandpaper. Step 5: To make the handle, drill two 8 mm holes in the 12 mm dowel. Each hole should be drilled three quarters of the way through the dowel, centred and positioned 20 mm from each end. Begin by drilling small pilot holes to guide the larger drill bit.
A dog is laying on a dog bed in a living room next to a couch.

Too Good to be True?

By Nathan Miglani • May 22, 2024
We are on the cusp of a once-in-a-decade influx of properties on the market. Nathan Miglani, Director of NZ Mortgages, explains. As we have discussed, in the aftermath of the election we saw immediate momentum in the market. Since March we have seen this start to drop as the reality of interest rates remaining high dampened buyers’ appetite. Petrol prices are high, the cost of living continues to increase and while the OCR is holding, and forecasted to hold for the next few months, people are hurting, which in turn sees the property market slow. But there is hope on the horizon – we are predicting that by September/October we will start to see interest rates slowly start to come down, but do not expect them to drop as quickly as they rose. We are seeing some banks offer as low as 5.99 per cent on a three-year loan, and while this might sound good now, my advice is still to only fix for a short term to avoid costly break fees. The most active market we are seeing right now is in the $800,000 – $1.3 million range with lots of buying and selling happening. This is set to ramp up come 1 July with the changes to the bright-line property rule when it comes to being taxed on capital gain – dropping from 10 years (or five years for a new build) to two. For many it will seem too good to be true, but it is! This is set to put in motion a once-in-a-decade influx of properties to the market from Mum-and-Dad investors who are currently hurting with the high interest rates, creating massive opportunity for both first home buyers and first-time investors. Other sectors of the market continue to feel the pinch and as an advocate and passionate developer it was important to me to be able to assist the construction sector, which sees the launch of our construction division, Construction Loans. This is for those who have decided to build their first home, right up to those developing a subdivision. It is about helping everyone achieve their goals – which underpins everything we do. For this sector, it is about ensuring that the finances are in order before it is too late. Arranging finance for building a property is different from securing finance on an existing home, and it is critical to consider the best way to structure repayments on the section and the build while maintaining lifestyle.  It is about empowering builders, developers and everyone to make informed decisions that work for their unique situations. There is no one size fits all, which is why it is imperative that you seek professional advice before it’s too late. We are here to help you avoid pitfalls.
A group of young boys are playing soccer on a field.

The Future of Happiness

By Dr Cheryl Doig • May 22, 2024
Dr Cheryl Doig explores why a holistic approach, when it comes to educating, parenting and governing should be considered. It’s a complex world that our young people are growing up in. Societal change, the impact of social media and technology are colliding with climate change, misinformation, disinformation, and warfare. Trust in governments has deteriorated and the world is more polarised. It’s no wonder wellbeing and happiness are such a focus in our schools, our homes and our businesses. The recent results from the 2024 Global Happiness Index showed that happiness in Aotearoa New Zealand has fallen significantly for all age groups, but by twice as much for the young as for the old. In 2021–2023, our young people were the least happy age group. Females under 30 have one-third more negative emotions than males. Our young people are not thriving. Contrast this with 2006–2010 results, when the young were happier than those in the midlife groups, and about as happy as those aged 60 and over. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt provides some insight into what might be happening here. Haidt refers to our young people as ‘the anxious generation’ and outlines the following as contributing factors: Technology – constant connectedness and the facade of always appearing happy and successful on social media. The cult of safety – overprotective parents and risk aversion – not developing resilience nor the ability to cope with challenges. The loss of play – the decline of unstructured play and outdoor exploration, critical factors for social, emotional and cognitive development. The pressure to succeed – intense academic and extracurricular expectations. The loneliness epidemic – social isolation is more prevalent even though our children appear more ‘connected’. These are deep social issues that have no simple solution. What is needed is an holistic approach to parenting, educating and governing. A focus on literacy, numeracy and sciences alone is not going to lead to a wellbeing economy. Supportive relationships and acceptance of diversity matter more than ever. Creative and critical thinking, play and physical exercise cannot be forgotten. Futures thinking is one way of developing resilience, risk taking and autonomy, as it explores alternative world views and encourages anticipating a range of scenarios. Many of our teachers know this but struggle with the ever-changing pendulum swings of successive governments. They’re exhausted and not so happy in their work. Schools need that sense of community support. We are overdue for a bipartisan collective vision for education in order to create a future where our young people thrive, are hopeful and happy. It’s not all doom and gloom. We can make a positive difference! As parents, whānau and communities, my challenge to you is to consider one item from the bullet point list above. Lean into it and give your children a bit of space to be children and have joy in their lives. Don’t crowd them, cosset them and control them so much. Walk alongside and guide them. Let them learn from failure with you as their coach. Celebrate successes.
Share by: