Vuvale Sautu (Fijian Family Well-Being) in Christchurch

“Our families are strong, they are resilient, they just need the support,” said one participant, Losana Korovulavula, who works in community and public health, during a discussion.

“They don’t understand where to go to get support, and when they do, the help still sounds like the system is doing stuff to them rather than working with them to support them.” Losana says on the one hand, families don’t access the services available but when they do, the services don’t seem to listen or understand enough to offer what’s needed.

“We are very short of workers in Christchurch, especially workers with ethnic specific knowledge.”

And in areas like family violence, where support workers work with Pacific families, there is a lack of ethnic specific training. It’s part of the reason Etū Whānau Ora Navigator Grace Teiva attended the programme. Although she has a lot of Pacific training in her line of work, there is no ethnic-specific family violence prevention training.

“Etū Pasifika doesn’t do violence prevention training, I’ve only had this type of training through the mainstream – so it’s good to get it from a Pacific point of view.”

Grace says Nga Vaka programmes like Vuvale Sautu are much needed in the region.

“The Pacific communities are growing, especially here in Christchurch, so it’s important that their needs are met. It’s important to raise that awareness, to talk about the issue and have hard conversations, as we did today, about things you wouldn’t normally talk about.”

Facilitator Seru Tiqatabua, who is involved in the Man Up programme helping men be better for their families, agrees with the sentiments.

“Ultimately what we want is for people in the communities to know that there is help available and that there are places they can go to.”

The Pasefika Proud Pathways for Change was launched in May 2020 with a focus on developing regional hubs throughout the country and creating localised solutions by mobilising communities. This includes developing a culturally responsive workforce adept at dealing with Pacific peoples in their community. The Cause Collective (TCC) meanwhile focuses on the Auckland and Waikato regions where Nga Vaka will continue to build capability for the Pacific workforce. TCC will still support other regions on a case by case basis where there is no regional hub. The Fijian community is eager to know where to go from here.

For Losana there are a lot of gaps to fill in terms of connecting her Fijian communities and families to the services that are available.

“I work at CDHB sitting at community and public health for three days and two days at Tangata Atamotu Trust. I’ve never heard of a Fijian family bringing their case or any of my colleagues talking about Fijian families. What’s happening with our community?”

The group came to the conclusion that violence may be happening but families were not reporting, which is a common occurrence for newer communities. They identified a lack of support for those coming into the country – and a lack of programmes like Nga Vaka Vuvale Sautu. Not only can it help people prevent or reduce violence in Fijian families but it can also foster wellbeing using an indigenous framework.

“It just needs to be seen as important by those at the top – but in order for that to happen it has to be acknowledged at a community level,” says Losana.

“There’s no reporting or seeking of help so how are we dealing with it?” asks Losana.

“What are our stress levels at home when we’re not accessing the services that we’re supposed to be asking for help from?”

“The government can provide funding if the voice is strong. It comes down to coming together as a collective to create a demand for the resources. One voice asking for help can barely be heard, but when you combine multiple voices it creates momentum.”