FLO Talanoa suicide prevention education programme for Pasifika

FLO Talanoa is Le Va’s suicide prevention training programme, developed to be led and delivered by and to our own communities. It is a call to action, designed for sustainability and aligned with Pasifika values of love, respect and reciprocity. 

Responding to the call

Many Pasifika community leaders have already responded and volunteered to undertake this free training programme. 

Leaders are selected to undertake the facilitator training and receive support and tools from Le Va over a two-day intensive workshop. After successfully completing the programme, they reciprocate by delivering free workshops in their own communities. As a result, our communities take ownership and leadership of community actions plans.

The FLO Talanoa training was launched in September 2015, with multiple programmes delivered in Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and the Hawke’s Bay. Today, 74 facilitators have successfully completed the two-day facilitator workshop. 

Feedback from participants is that they’ve seen significant growth in their own knowledge and confidence to deliver to the content of the programme to other Pasifika. We are honoured to have worked with an eclectic and passionate mix of our Pasifika FLO Talanoa facilitators – they reflect the diverse Pasifika make-up within our communities. 

Rolling out the mat

Training Pasifika facilitators is the first step.  Following this, community workshops are where FLO Talanoa facilitators, Pasifika community members and Le Va, come together. 

The first FLO Talanoa community workshop was successfully delivered in Auckland in October 2015.  

Since this inaugural workshop, 19 community workshops have been delivered by Pasifika communities to Pasifika communities in Auckland, New Plymouth, Tokoroa, Wellington, Whangarei, Palmerston North, Christchurch and Hamilton. More than 320 Pasifika community members have now learned culturally appropriate, clinically safe and community-suitable ways of preventing suicide.

Target audiences include family members of trained FLO Talanoa facilitators, community members, Church groups/organisations, PACIFICA women’s groups, education providers, students and health providers. Māori and Palagi have also attended these workshops and evaluated them as effective, with comments such as… 

Valuable two days that has inspired community action.”

Well done! This was an informative and engaging workshop. I feel confident and equipped to carry out this workshop.”

Excellent content particularly from a cultural/Pasifika perspective. Wonderful initiative to get the message of suicide prevention out into the community.”

Our sincere and humble thanks to all our Pasifika FLO Talanoa facilitators and community participants – together, we can all prevent suicide within our communities. Check out our FLO Talanoa webpage for more information.