About Le Va
Vibrant leadership and well pacific families
Le Va is the Pacific mental health workforce development unit within Te Pou. Our vision is clear - vibrant Pacific leadership and well Pacific families.
We will strive to improve the mental health and well being of Pacific people through progressing the delivery of effective health services from a clinically and culturally competent Pacific workforce. Our work will contribute to the Ministry of Health’s vision outlined in Te Tahuhu:Improving Mental Health 2005 – 2015, Tauawhitia te Wero:National mental health and addiction workforce development plan 2006-2009 and Te Kokiri: Mental Health and Addictions Plan 2006-2015.
The space that relates
The concept of Va refers to the “space between”. It is fundamentally different from western notions of space defined by open areas, expanses or distances that separate. Va refers to the space that relates, and to the context connected to the individual. It refers to relationships that are collective.
To maintain Va is to respect and maintain the sacred space, harmony and balance within relationships. There is a collective responsibility for all people to nurture the Va between each other. Maintaining Va is about maintaining respectful and strong relationships that result in a healthy person, organisation, community and society.
With regard to health, Va captures the holistic Pacific worldview of the important relationships between our physical, spiritual, psychological, social, economic and cultural dimensions that underpin a healthy community.
Vital to Le Va are the relationships cultivated between people - including Aotearoa/New Zealand-born Pacific people, non-Pacific people, tangata whaiora and service users, their families and health workers - and the unique relationship with te tangata whenua o Aotearoa.
Our symbol
The Le Va symbol (at the top of this page) was designed by graphic designer Sam Ikenasio and Bettina Ikenasio-Thorpe, directors of Ethnic Word
The symbol is a collection of Pacific motifs portraying the strong and respectful relationships between people, organisations, communities and societies that are maintained by Va, and it conveys Le Va as a Pacific organisation. It also draws upon the colours and shapes from the natural environments of the Pacific Islands.
The green leaves reaching to the sky represent new life, growth and hope.
The brown roots firmly embedded in the earth reference our genealogical roots, traditions, ancestry and identity.
The star the colour of the night sky is a masculine image that refers to the skilled navigators of the Pacific who would use the sun, stars, wind, waves and clouds to voyage and discover new lands. It also symbolises Pacific people's migration from the home islands to Aotearoa.
The orange frangipani is a feminine image depicted in siapo tapa cloth and, historically, in pre-Polynesian lapita pottery motifs.
The circle symbolises our pacific vibrancy and vitality and the influence our fragrance can have in New Zealand and in the health sector.
The white space represents Va, connecting four interdependent and inter-relational circular dimensions.
Overall, the symbol demonstrates that relationships are not unidirectional, but mutually linked and reciprocal, and that the space between, is not space that separates but space that relates.
Our signature presentation
Focus on service users
Just as we are trying to infuse Pasifika throughout the mental health and addiction services workforce, so too are we trying to infuse service user input and participation throughout Le Va.
First and foremost is our reference group, Le Leo o le Va, which has Maria Glanville and Karlo Mila-Schaaf amongst its fold - not just for their personal experience but for their wisdom and leadership as well.
Within our project work we have a number of people who identify as having personal and lived experience, including participants in Le Tautua, the emerging leaders programme. We also work closely with Papali'i Johnny Siaosi and Waitemata DHB around the planning and implementation of the Fakatu'amelie funded National Pacific Consumer's Conference.
Matutaki, the recruitment strategy, has been compiled not only with young Pacific people's input and consultation but also a number of young Pacific service users. We have also been working closely with the Like Minds, Like Mine project and TVNZ's Tagata Pasifika on an upcoming dual series which will focus on telling the stories of Pacific people with experience of mental illness, which will air later in 2008. This is a show to watch out for as a number of people being profiled have strong connections to Le Va's work plan.
We don't make a big thing of it, but many of our projects are led by people with personal experience. All achievers in their own right, they have been employed for their knowledge and abilities in project management or research. These projects include the development of Kato Fetu - Pacific research agenda, Aka Putuputu - Pacific workforce stock take, Le Tautua - emerging leaders programme and mentoring programme, Seitapu - Pacific competencies and Matutaki - recruitment strategy.
For more information, contact Vito Nonumalo, project development.
Page last updated: 12 December 2008