The Dawn Raids of the 1970s were a dark time in history for Pasifika migrants in Aotearoa New Zealand. To acknowledge their ongoing legacy, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP) is holding a series of events around the country to capture the untold stories of those affected.
Dubbed the Vaka of Stories, the initiative aims to create a safe space for connection, understanding and unity, bringing people together to share their experiences.
Le Va has partnered with the Ministry to provide wellbeing support for participants on this journey, to facilitate healing for those impacted both directly and indirectly by the Dawn Raids.
Dr Elizabeth Mati, Le Va’s general manager and a registered clinical psychologist, is bringing her expertise to the Vaka of Stories, providing support throughout and after the sessions.
Dr Mati said, “Our purpose at Le Va is to support Pasifika families and communities to unleash their full potential and have the best possible health and wellbeing outcomes. This opportunity to talanoa and have meaningful conversations about the trauma of these historic events, under the guidance of trained facilitators and local community leaders, will go a long way towards bringing closure for our people.”
A ‘vaka’ from MPP will travel around the country to hold full-day drop-in sessions facilitated locally at a church or community centre. The programme includes an open forum, smaller focus groups, one-on-one sessions, and a quiet room for those needing time to reflect.
On oral historian will be on hand to collect and record the stories that are shared, which will then be collated into a community-driven historical account about the Dawn Raids.
You can learn more about the Vaka of Stories on the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ website.
Matariki kāinga hokia
Matariki calls you home
Guest speaker Te Otinga O Ngā Mahi Audrey Hohaia (Ngāpuhi) shared her rich mātauranga Māori with the Harakeke House whānau. She spoke about the creation of Te Ao Māori, Te Kore, and the separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku.
LinkPeople staff members Kim Phillips and Te Rangi Piri-Te Kira gave a presentation on the significance of the nine whetū o Matariki and the relevance of Matariki to our modern lives.
Colleagues from the different Wise Group entities then shared karakia, kōrero, waiata, and kai, including hāngī and parāoa parai or fry bread.
The celebration, which was enjoyed by all, embodied the values of tohatoha (sharing), noho tahi (coming together), and whakanui (celebration). Staff embraced the spirit of Matariki and left with a deeper understanding and stronger connections to each other.
Le Va Chief Executive, Denise Kingi-‘Ulu’ave, and members of our Atu-Mai team were pleased to attend the inaugural National Pacific Practitioners FVSV Fono in Auckland in early July.
Organised by practitioners for practitioners, the focus of the fono was to build and strengthen connections amongst Pacific FVSV (family violence and sexual violence) practitioners and enable them to be better supported in their roles.
General manager of Le Va, clinical psychologist Dr Elizabeth Mati, delivered an insightful presentation on ‘Nurturing our children – preventing child sexual abuse in Pasifika communities’ at the two-day event.
Dr Elizabeth Mati
She spoke about Le Va’s Atu-Mai programme, which is a community-based violence and sexual violence prevention initiative designed to support Pasifika young people, families, and communities to experience safe, healthy, and respectful relationships.
In Aotearoa, evidence shows that Pasifika young people experience high rates of family violence, sexual harm and suicide attempts. Atu-Mai takes a strengths-based approach to bring about positive change.
Le Va developed the programme to equip Pasifika young people and their families with the knowledge and tools to live violence-free. The name Atu-Mai is based on the Cook Islands proverb ‘Aro’aatu, i te aro’a mai – love given, love received’.
Learn more about our Atu-Mai programme.
Le Va was honoured to receive a COVID-19 Response Recognition Award in June from Prime Minister Chris Hipkins for its ACC-funded #CatchYourself initiative.
During the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 in Aotearoa New Zealand, Le Va led an innovative online campaign to help people deal with the impacts of isolation.
Le Va’s leadership recognised that times of great stress and uncertainty, combined with the unprecedented physical isolation caused by the pandemic, could lead to a rise in mental distress, domestic violence, and longer-term social issues for families and communities.
Informed by international evidence and research, the Le Va team developed culturally appropriate digital resources and tools to help people manage their frustrations and maintain respectful relationships within their ‘bubbles’.
Promoted on social media channels with the taglines ‘Respect your bubble’ and ‘Trouble in your bubble?’, the #CatchYourself resources were designed to address a range of potential stressors. These included job insecurity and loss, financial pressures, scarcity of food or other supplies, and increased time spent at home.
The videos and factsheets used an education-based approach to provide information to help families manage the stresses of lockdowns and then transition smoothly back to school and work when restrictions were lifted.
Le Va’s #CatchYourself resources have now been revised to reflect the impacts of crisis events outside of COVID-19, such as the extreme weather events of 2023 and the ongoing cost of living crisis.
You can explore the #CatchYourself suite of practical resources and information on our website: #CatchYourself
Positive relationships are the tides that carry us to safer shores in tough times. For Pasifika, good health and wellbeing are deeply interwoven as we respond to each other’s connections to build trust, a sense of belonging, acceptance and purpose. Suicide prevention within our Pasifika communities starts with these connections.
This is one of the key areas we focus on in our FLO Talanoa suicide prevention training through our Top 5 Tactics to Pasifika suicide prevention. To understand how this training lands within our communities, we share the following statement from a recent participant to understand its impact within the community.
Immediately after the session I called three of our students that I felt displayed signs of risk discussed in the workshop. As a result of those conversations, all three students are now receiving the support they need. All three admitted they would never have reached out had it not been for those calls.
Understanding the diverse needs of our youth requires innovative approaches from Le Va to connect in the differing spaces that they may dwell. Le Va has been afforded a range of opportunities to connect in these different spaces, from Mental Wealth workshops in the grassroots basketball clubs to the ASB Winter Armageddon 2022 expo, promoting Mana Restore, the mental wellbeing tool for online gamers to over 40,000 people across the 3-day event.
We are living in a tech world and our children are growing up in this tech world, and it’s pretty scary. It’s boundless, you can get lost, even me, in my adult life I get a little bit lost; but that just means we need to put more time and effort into our younger generations. – Armageddon patron
One of the barriers to offering assistance can often be lacking the confidence or knowledge to safely step in or show support. With a kete (basket) of tools to help us identify signs of mental distress, we will hopefully be able to make a difference by creating communities of C.A.R.E.
With over 13,500 people equipped with skills from LifeKeepers to prevent suicide, we know that over 2,000 of these extraordinary individuals have intervened and supported someone thinking of taking their life and engaged them with the right supports to ease their distress. Reducing the number of lives lost by equipping everyday people in suicide prevention is our aim. With this in mind, we take a moment to speak with one of our LifeKeepers who shares their story about the impact the programme has had on them personally.
I was scared to participate in LifeKeepers initially. I thought it might be all doom and gloom but that couldn’t have been further from the truth! From the moment I walked into the room, the aroha, the manaaki and the genuine safety I felt is something that I continue to carry with me. I’ve never had that experience before. I wish I had done LifeKeepers 10 years ago! Since becoming a LifeKeeper, I am more aware and have the confidence to support my loved ones when once I was scared. By communicating with compassion and without judgement I have been able to support people in my life. I’m not a mental health professional, I like to think of myself as a bro-fessional because of the courage I now have to ask somebody if they’re thinking of taking their life. I now realise that there is a lot of support in the community, something I had never seen or thought of before becoming a LifeKeeper. I’m not too small to make a difference. I’m just me and I know that I am part of a bigger picture, this community of LifeKeepers. -KS, LifeKeeper, 2022
Become a LifeKeeper, you never know, you may just save a life – visit www.lifekeepers.nz
Afamasaga’s approach to parenting has changed. He is more conscious about the way he speaks, and more intentional about how he responds to his son. Through the lessons shared at the fono, he has developed a healthier relationship with his family. The wider benefits of his parenting journey has also included reconnecting with his father.
What I like most about the fathers fono, is the open discussions and just good old fashioned talanoa. It enlightened my train of thought for my own personal growth as a new father. It has also helped me want to reunite with my biological father. – Afamasaga
He is now giving more praise and encouragement to his child, who is more engaged in playful learning. By honing his new skills in active listening and supporting routines, his child is more receptive to calm instructions and loving bed-time routines.
To join us at Fathers Fono, register your interest at Events Registration – Le Va
Nicholas Cao, Clinical Lead at Le Va, spoke about the state and trends of Pasifika mental health and addiction (MHA) service delivery in Aotearoa New Zealand. Driving home the message of health equity and accessibility, and the need to improve the representation of Pasifika within the workforce, Nicholas spoke about our Futures that Work scholarships programme to grow the size and skills of the MHA workforce. Together with Engaging Pasifika, Le Va’s cultural competency programme, health services that are connected through culture and care will improve the quality of services, resulting in better health outcomes for all.
Jim To’o Filiva’a Stretton, Project Coordinator for Le Va, spoke about Niu Wave, a youth specific programme that supports 240 school students with their mental health and wellbeing. In partnership with the Ministry of Pacific Peoples, Le Va delivers a holistic wellbeing programme to students across Aotearoa New zealand who are studying STEAM subjects (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics). Our Pasifika youth are being equipped with useful knowledge and skills to better navigate their world.
Jim and Nicholas were also honoured to be on a panel discussion alongside Dr Kiri Prentice, Consultant Psychiatrist, Te Whatu Ora Waitematā and Deputy Clinical Director Māori, Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau, and Grace Ryu, Asian MHA Workstream Lead, Te Whatu Ora Waitematā. Together with other delegates they had the opportunity to discuss ways in which their practice can improve to support delivery of equity in the MHA system.
We work tirelessly to ignite communities with the hope of creating positive change by building connection, relationships and facilitating a voice for those navigating their mental health journey.
– Denise Kingi-Uluave
There is no health without mental health, that’s the key message from the New Zealand Ruby (NZR) and Le Va as they officiated their partnership.
Le Va supports Pasifika families and communities to unleash their full potential by carefully designing and developing resources, tools, information, knowledge and support services for the best possible health and wellbeing outcomes.
NZR leads, grows, supports, and promotes rugby in New Zealand with programmes to enhance their players and environments off the field, including the health and wellbeing of their community.
“We work tirelessly to ignite communities with the hope of creating positive change by building connection, relationships and facilitating a voice for those navigating their mental health journey,” Le Va CEO, Denise Kingi-Uluave, said.
“That’s why we are excited to announce our collaboration with NZ Rugby to improve the wellbeing of rugby players, families and their supporters throughout Aotearoa.”
NZR Mental Health and Wellbeing Manager Nathan Price said:
“This is an important partnership for NZR and enables us as an organisation to share expertise, tools and resources in Pasifika health and wellbeing. It will be particularly helpful in areas like mental health and harm prevention, and will strengthen the work of both organisations in these important spaces.
“Both NZR and Le Va share a vision for Pasifika wellbeing, and we know this agreement will help support better outcomes for the Pasifika families and communities who are involved in our game. We really look forward to starting this work.”
ENDS
We welcome media interviews, please contact
Suicide is a ‘whole of society’ problem and we all need to be involved, from government agencies to employers, friends and families. Everyone has a role to play in fostering emotional resilience so people can cope with challenges in healthier ways.
– Leilani Clarke
Raising awareness, breaking down stigma, increasing connection and responding compassionately can save lives. Evidence suggests that local grassroots projects like those supported by Le Va’s Pasifika Suicide Prevention Community Fund play an important role in helping to prevent suicide.
As a longstanding advocate for Pasifika, Le Va is honoured to once again be selected by the Ministry of Health Suicide Prevention Commissioning Office to administer part of a $3.1 million community fund which supports communities to create innovative solutions to prevent suicide.
Le Va senior manager for suicide prevention, Leilani Clarke said, “suicide is a ‘whole of society’ problem and we all need to be involved, from government agencies to employers, friends and families. Everyone has a role to play in fostering emotional resilience so people can cope with challenges in healthier ways.”
“The grassroots work of our communities addresses the loss of life due to suicide by delivering innovative prevention programmes that enhance community connectedness. Reaching out to individuals is a critical first step towards an authentic conversation and connection that saves lives.”
The Le Va Pasifika Suicide Prevention Community Fund initiative uses a strengths-based approach to enhance existing programmes and tap into the resiliency and relationships in Pasifika families and communities. The initiative has a particular focus on Pasifika in New Zealand’s rural, men, rainbow and youth communities, as well as people with lived experience of suicidal behaviour.
The Community Fund seeks to support Pasifika communities to effectively implement community-based suicide prevention initiatives so that families and communities are:
• strongly connected
• equipped with the skills to cope with distress
• actively building resilience and reducing the risks of suicide
• assisted in accessing support services and
• supported to build a strong cultural identity to enhance mental wellbeing
The Suicide Prevention Office has awarded funding of three annual rounds for the Māori and Pacific Suicide Prevention Community Funds. Administered by Te Rau Ora and Le Va, respectively, these funds go to community initiatives that support these communities.
Applications for the Le Va Suicide Prevention Community Fund will close 6 May 2022.
For more information, and to apply for funding, visit www.leva.co.nz/suicide-prevention-fund
Le Va is New Zealand’s leading not-for-profit Pasifika organisation whose work spans mental health, suicide prevention, addictions, violence prevention, public health, disability support services and cultural competency.
ENDS
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