Coco Talanoa — Coco News / Page 36
Over 73,000 Pacific People supported throughout COVID19 crisis
As the country moves to Alert Level One the Pasifika Medical Association through Pasifika Futures - the Whānau Ora commissioning agency for Pacific families, reflects on the colossal effort from Covid 19 Support Partners who tirelessly worked throughout all the Alert levels to serve our most vulnerable Pacific families.
The impact of this work: 17,755 Covid Support Packages delivered across the country, from Kaitaia to Invercargill, to 13,300 Pacific families, made up of 73,156 individuals. Eighty percent of those receiving support needed the help as they were no longer able to meet their family’s basic needs and 54% experienced a loss of family income.
Debbie Sorensen, the Chief Executive for PMA and Pasifika Futures says the 42 centers and partners across the country that distributed the packages to families, should be applauded for their quick response.
“It’s a testament to the connections our partners have to their communities. We made sure our partners had resources within two days prior to the lockdown to help and distribute to families in need.” she says.…more
PMA Scholar: Caring for grandmother, the inspiration for nursing career
As a 13-year-old, Simione Tagicakibau helped care for his fragile and ill grandmother in his homeland of Fiji. Now at 35, that experience as a teenager continues to inspire Simione in his nursing career and fuels his passion to care for the Pasifika community.
“During my experience with my grandmother, I saw how the nurses did their jobs and had a passion for caring for others. This is why I pursued nursing and had the motivation to work in health.”
A recipient of a Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) medical scholarship, Simione initially studied nursing in Fiji and worked as a nurse in his home country and the Cook Islands. He moved to New Zealand in 2015 and settled in Christchurch for better opportunities.
“New Zealand provided me with greener pastures and has allowed me to further develop my nursing knowledge and skills.”
Simione had been working in the Pacific Islands for five years.…more
BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTS GALVANISE PASIFIKA VOICES
The killing by police of unarmed black man George Floyd in the US has galvanised activism around the world including an outpouring of support from the Pasifika community in New Zealand and around the world.
Advocates say Pacific people can relate to the targeting and harassment by police that the Black Lives Matter movement has highlighted. Past protests by Pacific people, including Samoa's independence movement The Mau and The Polynesian Panthers against the Dawn Raids of the 1970's have also inspired many of today's Pasifika generation.
Pacific Islanders from New Zealand, Australia and the US who attended Black Lives Matter marches last week and more recently over this weekend share why it was important for them as Pasifika to support our black aiga both in the USA and here in our own communities.
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AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Anonymouz aka Faiumu Matthew Salapu
I love to create art & content that documents events and causes that spotlight where our society currently is, and more importantly, could be.…more
Free period products in schools to combat poverty
Pasifika young women in New Zealand will benefit from the latest government initiative which will see girls and young women from the ages of 9 - 18yrs old have access to free period products in schools.
"Young people in Waikato will be the first to have free access to period products in schools in another step to support children and young people in poverty,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.
During term 3, the Ministry of Education will begin providing free period products to schools following the Government’s $2.6 million investment. The roll-out will begin at 15 Waikato schools and be expanded to all state and state-integrated schools on an opt-in basis in 2021.
“We know that nearly 95,000 9-to-18 year olds may stay at home during their periods due to not being able to afford period products. By making them freely available, we support these young people to continue learning at school,” Jacinda Ardern said.…more
New Training and Apprenticeship Programs Available to aid Covid-19 Recovery
The Government has released a list of training and apprenticeship programs that they intend to fund, in order to aid in Covid-19 recovery.
• The Targeted Training and Apprenticeships Fund (TTAF) will pay costs of learners of all ages to undertake vocational education and training
• The fund will target support for areas of study and training that will give learners better employment prospects as New Zealand recovers from COVID-19
• Apprentices working in all industries will have costs paid
• High demand areas, including in regional New Zealand, targeted
• In many cases apprentices, trainees and learners at tertiary providers will save between $2500 and $6500 per year.
The Government has made it easier for New Zealanders who want to train in industries where demand is expected to grow as the country recovers from COVID-19.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins said the fund, announced as part of Budget 2020, will encourage and support New Zealanders to undertake vocational education and training in these high-demand industries.…more
The Unique Samoan La'au Selu
Ruby Satele tells Coconet TV about how these two samoan Selu are particularly unique.
What is so unique about Samoan selu?
These particular sets of selu are tall and elongated in form, making it visible even from front view. Each of the combs are significantly decorated and no two combs are the exact same. They are unique from other Samoan selu as these are purely decorative hair adornments and perhaps the only practical element it may have is to secure a hair style in place. The selu la’au (wooden comb) is a special one and also unique, even in the Pacific, for its level of detail and intricacies embedded in a thin, wooden comb.
Can you describe the dfiferent types of selu that are in the collection? Did they have different ornamental uses and what are each one made of?
There are two types of selu in the collection; selu tuāniu and selu la’au. The selu tuāniu is made from multiple midribs of the coconut leaflet and held together by lashings, often sennit lashings.…more
PMA Scholar: Pacific support network inspires success in health sector
After graduating from a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) at the University of Otago School of Medicine in December 2019, twenty-six-year-old David Nair has been working as a first-year health surgeon at Christchurch Hospital.
He’s also the recipient of the Pasifika Medical Association’s Papali’i Dr Semisi Ma’ia’i University of Otago Scholarship which he utilised to go back home to Fiji and work in hospitals there as part of his elective.
“Part of the reason for applying was I needed help financially for my final year of studies at med school, to cover the cost of electives. Receiving the scholarship meant that I could go back home to Fiji and work in a hospital and cover costs for flights and accommodation. I was also able to bring my parents and grandma over for a week. It was their first time back home in 20-years.…more
Gagana Samoa builds trust with patient-doctor relationship
Junior doctor at Middlemore Hospital, Tuipoloa Opetaia Aati is using his mother tongue⎯ Samoan to break down cultural barriers in medicine to help connect with his patients and better understand their medical needs or diagnosis. He has at least one medical consultation in Samoan a week and is happy he can be a familiar and approachable face for Pasifika coming into the hospital.
“Having fluency in Samoan was definitely a skill I wanted to incorporate into my profession. I know it acts as a form of bringing down the barriers between the doctor and the patient and brings us on the same level. There is a power discrepancy in patient-doctor relationships, knowing Samoan helps in this way with Samoan patients,” he says.
“I hope that speaking Samoan helps Pacific patients to feel comfortable enough to converse freely with me during consultations. It also allows me to form a relationship with their family especially, if there is a family member that is responsible for taking care of them.…more
Congratulations to 1 News/TVNZ reporter Barbara Dreaver for her two wins at the Voyager Media Awards last night
Congratulations to 1 News Pacific Correspondent Barbara Dreaver who won 2 major awards at the Voyager Media Awards last night for her coverage of the Samoa Measles Epidemic last year.
Barbara who was born and brought up in her Mothers home island of Kiribati has always been passionate about the Pacific Islands and fighting for Pacific Islands issues to be covered in mainstream media.
She said of winninng both awards "I am so super proud to take out two major categories - 'Best TV news story' and 'Best coverage of a major event' but winning it for my Samoan measles coverage is bittersweet. While I am thrilled that the significance of this tragic event is recognised it does feel wrong in some ways to celebrate because of the lifetime of hurt so many families have ahead of them."
She said the Samoan measles epidemic affected her profoundly on both a personal and professional level and she really struggled with witnessing so much needless grief.…more
Phyllein Pauli Taetafe - Continuing a Legacy of Service
The Pasifika Medical Association's (PMA) scholarship recipient, Pyllein Pauli Taetafe, says that her career as a nurse has helped her realise her dream of helping children suffering with illnesses.
“Seeing children suffer with their illness is sad. But I get my strength from knowing that I’ve given them the best care possible and the times I’ve made them smile, encourages me as I know I’ve done my small part to make them happy.”
She says she can empathize with families, after having to overcome the death of her own father when she was just seven years old.
“When my dad was dying, I experienced the process from a child’s lens and now as an adult I’m seeing children being sick, so the emotional connection is real for me and I feel I’ve come full circle.”
She says the job becomes difficult when patients succumb to their illnesses, especially children.
“I’m a Sunday school teacher and a youth leader so my passion for children does come through.…more