Coco News

UK Pop Star Ed Sheeran surprises Manurewa Intermediate with a mini concert and FREE tickets to his weekend show!

When Manurewa Intermediate children went off to school this morning, they never would have guessed they'd be getting their own mini concert by international pop star Ed Sheeran.

Deputy Principal Ross Devereux told 1News that aside from him and school leadership, none of the staff or students knew about the performance - to say the least, things got wild when he rocked up.

Jerome Tairi shared on his facebook page the childrens reaction when Ed Sheeran walked into the hall - check out the response from the 900 students below -

Sheeran played three songs for the kids with everyone singing along with him.

Ojay Solomona shared the below clip on his instagram of everyone totally hyped and singing along to his slow jam 'Perfect'. 

Deputy Principal Ross Devereux also told 1News that he also gave a lovely speech to the kids about what it means to fulfil your own journey in life.…more


Pacific Blog

PacifiCast answers Samoa's urgent need for wheelchairs & crutches

“Alone we can do so little: together we can do so much” - Helen Keller

Last week during the Miss Pacific Islands pre pageant events, former Miss Pacific Islands Seumanu Fonoifafo Seumanu visited the elderly community of Mapuifagalele - Polynesia's first aged care home - together with this years Miss Pacific Islands contestants, PacifiCast and Samoa Tourism representatives.

As brand ambassador for PacifiCast this was Seumanu's final act as the reigning Miss Pacific Islands and during the visit she was able to gift a number of wheelchairs and crutches on behalf of the agency in partnership with Samoa Tourism, the Ministry of Health and Samoa government. 

PacifiCast is an agency that supports and connects the Pasifika community to global markets, opening a new lens to the Pacific through an intrinsic understanding of the region and serving the people in the region.…more


Entertainment

Pacific Islanders Answer Questions You're Too Afraid To Ask

Warning:  Explicit Language

As part of Buzzfeed Australia's Pacific Islander week, Lakz (Tongan Content Creator), Kween Kong (Samoan Drag Queen), Bigs685 (Samoan rapper & actor), Sela Vai (Tongan choreographer), Voli K (Fijian Singer/Song writer) and A.Girl (Maori Singer/Song writer) team up to answer a few questions.


Pacific Blog

WE ARE STILL HERE ANTHOLOGY - Pacific Directors: Mario Gaoa & Miki Magasiva

In order to move forward, we must first look back.

'We Are Still Here' is a unique Indigenous film that interweaves eight powerful tales to tell a sweeping story of hope and survival.  Through the eyes of eight protagonists, 'We Are Still Here' traverses 1000 years from past, present, and future to explore stories of kinship, loss, grief, and resilience.  But ultimately, it shows the strength of love and hope to overcome shared traumas that Indigenous people from Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific have continued to face.

'We are Still Here' is out now in select NZ cinemas and will be released in Australia on the 16th of Feb.

We talk to two of the Pasifika directors involved with the project about their short film 'Uniform' that was part of the anthology.

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MARIO GAOA & MIKI MAGASIVA - UNIFORM 

What is WE ARE STILL HERE about?

WASH is a collective of 8 indigenous films.…more


Entertainment

Red, White & Brass Trailer

From the producers of 'The Breaker Upperers', 'Cousins' and 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople', 'Red, White & Brass' is the debut feature film for director Damon Fepulea’i who co-wrote with co-producer Halaifonua (Nua) Finau.

The film stars John-Paul Foliaki (Popstars), Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi (The Panthers), Ilaisaane Green (Brutal Lives), Onetoto Ikavuka, Mikey Falesiu (Toke), Lupeti Finau, Lotima Pome (Under the Vines), and Haanz Fa'avae-Jackson (Savage).

The 4 track EP which features original music from Three Houses Down and a few of the cast is available now -  Click here  

Tongans are renowned for their enthusiastic support of their sporting teams; decorating their cars, houses and faces with the Tongan flag.  Inspired by a true story, Red, White & Brass showcases this māfana energy. 

The underdog story follows a community of Tongans who form a brass band as the pre-game entertainment in a desperate attempt to get tickets to the 2011 Rugby World Cup Tonga vs France game.

“The māfana energy in the film is infectious,” says Fepulea’i.…more


Sports

Pacific Players Playing the Super Bowl 2023

This years NFL Super Bowl is between The Philadelphia Eagles and The Kansas City Chiefs. Amongst these two teams are a group of islanders holding it down for their teams in the biggest American Football event of the year.

Here are Pasifika players you'll be able to spot in Super Bowl LVII on Monday 13th 12.30pm NZDT: 

* NB These are just the Pacific island players on the actual playing roster who are likely to be in the run on teams on Super Bowl Sunday.  We haven't included players in the reserves or training squads

Jordan Mailata

Team: The Philadelphia Eagles

Position: Offensive Tackle

Lafoga Jordan Mailata is a Samoan offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was born and raised in Australia where he previously played rugby league. He joined the NFL via the league's International Player Pathway Program. He was selected in the 7th round, 233rd overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2018 NFL Draft, despite having no prior football experience.

You may also recognise his face from FOX's The Masked Singer.…more


Sports

MOANA PASIFIKA - Media Day

We catch up with a few of the Moana Pasifika boys at Moana Pasifika HQ for Media Day ahead of the start of their Super Rugby season.

They share what music they listen to before a game, who their childhood rugby hero was, which player they're most looking forward to tackling, their favourite island food and more ...

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ICYMI Sky have also announced a partnership with Moana Pasifika to enable reach and build connections into Pasifika communities including creating content and products to engage Moana Pasifika fans both in NZ and worldwide.  They're also keen to support community initiatives.

The shared content creation initiatives will enable the partners to tell authentic Pasifika stories, and for Moana Pasifika content to be available across Sky’s ecosystem (including some free-to-air on Prime).


Coco News

Stranded in Paradise

“The saddest thing to see are the people sleeping at the airport because they have no money for accommodation” - Tamati Ratahi

“Paradise now feels like a prison when you are trapped here and the people who rely on to get you out arent speaking to you” - Aaron Davy 

"I’m one of the kiwis stuck in Samoa. Air NZ would never treat people in Europe like they’re treating us”  - Michelle Blau via Twitter

“The Air NZ office in Apia is locked. People start queuing at 7 am for the chance to talk to someone. I waited 3 hours and got nowhere. The staff were lovely but overwhelmed and powerless…People were crying about running out of medicine, missing their spot in Uni programmes, missing medical appointments etc.  We got an email saying it would be 72 hours before we hear anything from Air NZ.…more


Coco News

Councillors and Community advocates rally for Māngere residents hit hard by Auckland flooding

The Māngere community was one of the hardest hit areas in South Auckland affected by the flooding on January 27th.

After it was announced the South Auckland evacuation centre was going to be in Randwick Park, Manurewa;  Local Mangere councillors and community advocates fought hard to have a community information pop up centre set up for Māngere residents struggling to find info on where to get help and access support services.

They will be moving tomorrow from the Māngere Memorial Hall in Māngere Bridge (Tuesday 31st Jan) to Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Pool & Leisure Centre where it will become an official evacuation centre complete with beds and showers as well as the social services shown in the video above.

Māngere-Otāhuhu local board chair Tauanu'u Nick Bakulich said that they've found there are many people who still don't realise this service is available and are calling on people to let friends and family know that they can either come to the Evacuation Centre OR that there are outreach teams available to go out and assist families at their homes.…more


Coco News

Auckland Floods: Where to get financial help, accommodation and food

On Friday the 27th of January, severe flooding hit Auckland after the City of Sails received 75% of their usual summer rainfall within 15 hours.  It resulted in slips, evacuations and flooding with roads across the region blocked.

Auckland mayor Wayne Brown decided to declare a State of Emergency at 9.54pm after flooding wreaked havoc with peak hour traffic and Auckland airport went under water resulting in flights being cancelled and at least 2000 passengers stuck there overnight.

Some of the worst hit areas around Auckland below - 

As at 5.10pm, Monday 30th Jan, all Auckland education facilities have been ordered to close until February 7 as Auckland grapples with wild weather and flood damage.

So far up to four people have died - Two people were found dead in Wairau Valley while the third was found in Remuera and the fourth in Onewhero, Waikato.

At a media conference on Sunday afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni said the death of four people was was 'horrific'.

"I think it's been a traumatic experience. ...…more