Pasifika Family Wellness Project
Courageous and hopeful talanoa (conversations) to navigate family violence within our Pasifika and Maori Communities in Naarm
The Pasifika Family Wellness Project was set up and developed as part of the Victorian Government program to support and address family violence during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, response and recovery.
There is a paucity of work done in this space amongst our Pasifika diaspora communities in Melbourne and so the overall purpose of the Pasifika Family Wellness Project is to communicate family wellness and family violence from a Pasifika Perspective that will: uphold Pasifika core values and beliefs; ensure culturally responsive language to ground, lead and inform our solutions within our community.
Pasifika Community Leaders were invited to lead this Talanoa (conversations) to help guide a collective way forward. We are excited to share our talanoa and a foundational step towards the prevention of family violence. Click below to view our Pasifika Family Wellness Project Website
Our People, Our Stories
”Everything was so different when we got here, there was a great disconnect and we were yearning to find people similar to us”
Of Samoan descent, Penaia walks us through his journey of migrating from the lush islands of Samoa to a small town of Manangatang in North-West Victoria, Australia.
”My father saw my moving to Australia as an opportunity for growth”
Of Maori descent, Marie shares her journey growing up in Aotearoa, New Zealand and migrating to Melbourne with her husband in 2006.
”The key for me was good friendships, 50 years on and Im still good friends, and these friendship groups always made sure I had a good tribe of safety around me”
Of Fijian and Australian descent is one of seven siblings. Bernie was born in Australia and later migrated to Fiji to stay connected to her roots.
This project is being delivered in partnership with FiB consultants and was set up as part of the Victorian Government program to support and address family violence during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, response and recovery.