News

It has been an exciting year for the Atu-Mai team at Le Va. Atu-Mai is New Zealand’s violence and sexual violence prevention programme for Pasifika youth and their families. Atu-Mai equips Pasifika people with the right knowledge, information, education, resources, and tools to prevent violence in our communities.

Imagine a world where Pasifika people with disabilities have access to all the services they need. A world without language or cultural barriers, and where Pasifika people with disabilities can live the life they want the way they want. Le Va is working with disability support services, communities, and others to develop such a world, right here in Aotearoa.

The delivery of Le Va’s national Engaging Pasifika Cultural Competency programme commenced in 2009. It focuses on equipping mainstream health and disability workers with the foundational knowledge, skills and attitudes to meaningfully engage with Pasifika individuals and their families.

For 2020, Le Va has reached its highest number of Pasifika scholarships awarded in the history of the programme, with 111 scholarship recipients covering a variety of study areas, from social work, counselling and psychology to occupational therapy, and even indigenous knowledge!

From July 2019 to June 2020, the FLO Pasifika for Life Programme has reached over 14,000 people through 290 participants attending a FLO Talanoa Pasifika suicide prevention workshop, 534 young people and their families increasing their mental health literacy through the Mental Wealth project, and 13,879 users entering real-life problems into the Aunty Dee problem-solving tool.

Between July 2019 and June 2020, the Le Va team delivered LifeKeepers – Aotearoa’s national suicide prevention training programme – to over 1,500 New Zealanders. A massive year for the team, with e-learning a-plenty, the launch of LifeKeepers e-learning + webinar, and face-to-face workshops throughout the motu, all allowing us to engage with caring communities everywhere from Dunedin to Whangarei.