Taking steps to enable Ōtautahi Pasifika Community

Linda: The kaupapa here today is Enabling Communities and part of the work programmes within Enabling Communities is strengthening our relationship with the Pacifica Community in Te Waipounau. So today is the Pacifica Fono where we are going to design how were going to do all of this.

Rev Makesi Alatimu: [singing] for fellowship and all things all things good we praise your name o Lord.

If you want to go fast, go by yourself. But if you want to go far, go together. And I think that saying encapsulates the aim and the ethos of this Fono today in the attempt to try and bring back the role of children not only within the families but also within the communities. That there is too many times that our children are seen but not heard and to try and understand where they come is going to require us to shift a lot of goal posts.

Keitiria: So as the regional manager for Māori Partnerships and Communities in Te Waipounamu we quickly found that there had been no investment in Pacific communities. Therefore this is one of the drives for us working together and collaborating with our providers in the community but also internally with our Pacifica leaders to get this Fono underway. Which is one of three that will support the Enabling Communities moemoea with supporting Pacifica under the umbrella of Ngā Maata Waka.

Linda: Of the 12,000 odd that have come through the marae here throughout 2022, 5,500 were Pacifica.

Diane: were here to bring together our pacific communities, to have a bit of a talanoa around opportunities for us to connect. First of all to firstly connect, build a relationship and a connection then for us to have a talanoa around opportunities moving forward.

So its quite significant that we are here today because this is really kind of like the first time Oranga Tamariki have engaged with Pacific Community in Ōtautahi so its making the most of those opportunities to create the safe space in order for us to have that talanoa.

Rev Makesi Alatimu: It’s really important for us to get that mantra back and one of those ways is not to work individually in silos but to work together as a whole. That means not only Pacifica but also the people of the land, Māori, the government or the Western European. The Western Society is a individual, nuclear family focused. Whereas we as Pacific, we are tribal, our Ainga, our family is our aunties our uncles, our extended family, so that’s important.

Linda: Whatever comes out of this is the action to progress the strengthening of relationships. How do we do this, hat needs to happen, where the resources need to go to in order for us to engage with the Pacific whānau around helping our babies and our mokopuna not to go into Oranga Tamariki, statutory care should I say. And how can we actually enable our people as a whole to look after whānau – how do we do that?

Tuafuti Ka: Talofa lava, Mālō e lelei, ni sa bula vanaka, kia ora whānau. My name is Tuafuti Ka

Leina: Talofa lava, my name is Leina

Isi: My name is Isi Pulu

Phil: Talofa lava, my name is Phil

Futi: Young people are resources to be developed, not problems to be managed. I think its important to capture the insights of all of our rangatahi that live in these marginalised communities, all the way from South Auckland, Otara, Mangere, Manurewa, all the way through to Christchurch, Aranui, East Side.

These are the insights that government have no idea what’s going on and its important for these voices to be heard. Because rangatahi are a greater ally sitting next to us than they are enemies sitting opposite us.

Leina: Definitely continue on with the Fono. But go out into the community like get the different voices of like the youth that were born here, also the youth that have moved from the islands to here. There will definitely be various perspective on how Oranga Tamariki can support them. Definitely just go right back into the community. Remove the leaders. Their voices are already there. If we just go to the root of the community I think there will be a lot of movement happening from there.

Phil: A lot of our Pacific people are extremely talented and if we had the money and the resources to fund these types of programmes then we will be able to get stuff out of them.

Isi: One question I wanted to ask inside the Fono, what are Oranga Tamariki doing to help our students or our youth. Helping them stay in school. Because there’s a couple students that I’m mentoring at the moment, they’ve sort of dropped out of school just to work and help out families. I’ve been seeing that happen lately from like couple people that I know.

Reverend Makesi Alatimu: There are too many times that our children are seen but not heard, and to try and understand where they come is going to require us to shift a lot of goal posts.

Linda Ngata: I am so pleased. I’m pleased for a number of reasons, the main one being is we have a really good element of the younger voice, younger Pacifica voice in the Fono. Having a really good representation from the younger generation is always exciting.

Keitiria McCaughey: I’ve just been so privileged to hear some of our youth, youth voice and also our communities. Todays been the first of three Fono to start building a Pacifica stream through our Enabling Communities here in Ōtautahi and it’s just been amazing to hear the stories and what people want to see is their moemoea from our Pacifica communities.