Fakatu'amelie - showcasing Pacific innovations

Fakatu’amelie is derived from a Tongan term that depicts a journey of faith, trust and hope. If we have faith in our own ideas, trust in ourselves, and instill hope to help shape the future, we wait in confidence that great things will be achieved.

Historically, Fakatu'amelie offered an innovation fund which was open to organisations developing new ways of working in the New Zealand mental health and addictions sector. These ideas and innovations could, in turn, be applied elsewhere in New Zealand to deliver benefits to the wider mental health sector. The final recipients of the fund, and their innovative projects, can be viewed here.

Le Va is on the lookout for new and exciting innovations that support and enhance our sector workforce. As part of the Fakatu’amelie programme, we would like to regularly showcase and share some of these innovations, experiences and ideas with the sector. 

If you would like us to showcase something new and innovative please contact Manase Lua.

Philip Siataga – I Am guide

Le Va would like to present to the sector: I Am: a guide for nurturing hope, resilience and happiness Pasifika style (PDF, 1MB). This resource was developed and written by Philip Siataga who has extensive experience in social change work, counselling, education and research. This resource was developed through the funding and support of Le Va.

The manual itself has broad scope and potential application, but was designed primarily for youth workers or anyone working with young people. The content and concepts in the manual will be most effective if grounded in the I Am training session and then adapted to suit the target audience. The course is generally designed for two days plus a one-day follow up and involves a lot of group work.

Learning outcomes:

• Understanding resiliency through narrative and story telling (cultural prosperity)
• Development of planning and goal setting skills (education-motivation, life balance)
• Understanding positive psychology through a Pacific lens (engagement and purpose and insight)
• Personal growth and professional development through reflective practice
• Maximising group and team development (mana enhancing interaction).

If you would like more information or are interesting in attending a session of the I Am workshops, please contact Philip Siataga via email at emotionbydesignz   "at" gmail.com.

Seiuli Papali’i Johnny Siaosi - Negotiating space for Pacific Consumers and their families

Le Va wishes to acknowledge and congratulate Seiuli Papali’i Johnny Siaosi, Consumer Advisor and Matua at Takanga a Fohe Services, Waitemata DHB. He is the first, and currently the only, Pacific Consumer Advisor working full-time for a DHB in the country. He led the project team that successfully delivered the inaugural national Pacific consumer and family recovery conference.

The conference was held on 7-8 May 2009 at the Waipuna Hotel in Auckland, with the theme of “Journey of wellness to wellness”. Le Va sponsored Waitemata DHB to deliver the conference through a one-off grant of $50,000 from its Fakatu’amelie Innovation Fund round in 2008. It is our pleasure to share the final project report and evaluations (PDF, 10MB) of the conference with the sector.

As a Samoan Matai (titled chief) of the Sa Malietoa clan, Seiuli showed the strength of character, courage and spirit of his ancestors. He also epitomised the humble leadership ethos of Tautua (service) as he turned a dream into reality. In her opening speech as co-sponsor of the conference, Dr Monique Faleafa alluded to this by saying:

“A vision without a task is a dream, and a task without a vision is a drudgery – but a vision with a task can change the world” Black Elk. This conference could just as easily have suffered the same fate of countless other good ideas. What makes this event different is that it started from an idea, transformed into a vision and is now a reality with a sense of purpose and set tasks to be completed as its outcome.”

To attempt what is ground-breaking is difficult at the best of times, but to do it when times are difficult is truly remarkable. It was not only innovative because it was a first for Pacific, but it was also a landmark event for the whole sector as an example of what is possible within the 'negotiated space'. Le Va congratulates the senior management of Waitemata DHB and in particular Helen Wood, Ana Sokratov and Pulotu Bruce Levi. Their support and commitment to the project was instrumental in its success.

The conference was a triumph on a number of important levels as shown in the final report. Its key outcomes were achieved and the project funds were well accounted for and stayed within budget.  It also showed that with the right support, consumers can successfully lead and organise events such as this.

Important key messages were delivered by inspirational presenters at the fono such as award winning poet and academic Karlo Mila-Schaaf and Le Tautua Emerging Leaders Programme Alumnus David Vaaulu. Le Va was able to capture some of these key messages and important moments on film. Selected clips can be viewed here. If you would like a limited copy of the DVD, you may also contact us for a copy, subject to availability.

Popao Model – Folau ki he mo’ui lelei (journey to wellness)

Le Va is proud to present the Popao Model – A Pacific Recovery and Strength Model in Mental health (PDF, 5.5MB). This document has been put together by Taitoko Tafa and Manu Fotu with the mandate and support of the Popao Group. 

Malologa Trust put in an application in 2008 to the Fakatu’amelie Innovation Fund to publish the Popao model, which was printed in the Pacific Health Dialog Journal (PDF, 126KB) in February this year. The authors have also penned a 70-page booklet to share their latest work with the sector. This document includes specific enhancements to the model and introduces two new models:

• The Ma’u Kava Model – this uses the traditional kava protocols as a metaphor for relationship building, connecting and nurturing; and
• the Fofola e Fala Kae Fai e Talanga Model – which presents the concepts of “ngafa” or duty and “va” or relationships.

Le Va also wishes to commend the Blue Dove mental health services.  Their waka ama initiative was recently showcased on TV as a very practical and innovative use of actual popao (waka ama/outrigger canoe) as therapy for people with mental illness. See the full story, and video.

Siaki Tokolahi - Lotofale

Le Va is delighted to showcase two specific innovations designed and authored by Mr Siaki Tokolahi, Clinical Coordinator/DAO at Lotofale. 

Lotofale is an adult Pacific Island mental health service at Auckland DHB, catering for clients in Auckland City.

The tools developed by Siaki were presented to his manager and management team, assessed and approved through internal Auckland DHB compliance processes, and are now an integral part of the standard tools and processes already in place. 

Siaki is also an alumni member of our inaugural 2008 Le Tautua Emerging Leaders Programme.

Cultural Assessment Audit Tool

The audit tool was developed with reference to the National Mental Health Sector Standard – Audit workbook (SNZHB 8143:2002) from the Ministry of Health. Concepts from the Fonofale Model were also integrated throughout. The purpose of this tool is to evaluate what the service is doing well and areas that need improvement. It targets areas such as consumer rights, community involvement and cultural assessment.

Initial use of the audit tool identified that Lotofale had key strengths particularly in family involvement and cultural assessment. Improvement was identified as needed with regard to documentation, and the tool guided a structured action plan of how to address these issues. It is anticipated that next year’s cultural audit will recognise the changes made in the service, enhancing culturally relevant practice.

You can download and view a sample here.

Body Mass Index (BMI) Graph

Pacific Islanders are known to be at higher risk of heart disease than their European counterparts and the accurate tracking of changes in BMI and waist circumference is crucial for the effective management of these risks. In response to this need, and Auckland DHB transitioning to an electronic based notes system, a quick-view template format was developed for inserting into client’s electronic notes. This has been trialled and implemented within the Lotofale client review documentation and has proved successful in making the monitoring of client changes more efficient.

You can download and view a sample here.

Le Va wishes to congratulate Siaki, his manager Kim Jolly and all the team at Lotofale for their dedication and commitment to providing innovative inroads to quality services to the sector. 

Please contact Siaki Tokolahi or call him on (09) 623 4689 for permission if you wish to utilise these tools in your service or if you require any further information.

Page last updated: 22 June 2010