Skip to main content
Le Va logo
Get help now
Contact us Get Help Now

The Ribanaia Women’s Group is a Wellington-based Kiribati women’s club that meet regularly and acknowledge the importance of their role as mothers and grandmothers who are instrumental in keeping their Kiribati language and heritage alive for their families and Kiribati communities.

Ribanaia Women’s Club were a successful recipient of the 2021 Le Va Pasifika Suicide Prevention Fund to provide a mental health and wellbeing programme for the Kiribati community in the Wellington and Horowhenua areas.

Le Va had the opportunity to connect with Teramira Schutz (Training Coordinator) who shared her explanation of the Kiribati mental health and wellbeing programme, and its impacts in the community. The following account is written by Teramira.

It all started when twe saw the Le Va Pasifika Suicide Prevention Fund advertisement and knew there was nothing out there for the Kiribati community. From our observations, people just swallow it (their struggles), it isn’t something we talk about in our culture. We wanted to increase awareness in our wider community to help prevent suicide.

Our women’s group is made up of women from different backgrounds including those within in the physical and mental health spaces. We met and over time, we developed a comprehensive awareness programme that covers a range of different topics tailored to our Kiribati community. Topics include safe communication and behaviour, parenting styles, parent roles, the impact of drugs, alcohol and gambling, puberty, signs of mental distress, caring for our elderly and the impacts of high blood pressure and sugar levels.

Under the Fund our target audience was Kiribati people within the Wellington and Horowhenua areas, aged from 15 years and over. We linked in with the Wellington Kiribati community group as well as local churches and attendance of our workshops have been a great success! We have run four workshops with just over 100 attendees. Following the first two workshops, we have had requests from family and friends outside our intended areas flooding in. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 we were able to run our workshops over zoom making it more accessible for our Kiribati communities across New Zealand to attend.

The community testified that “we are great role models and have delivered culturally tailored topics to foster positive mental health and wellbeing for the Kiribati communities in New Zealand. The topic is very sensitive however the women have simplified it to suit the Kiribati culture.”

The demand is growing for the workshops as like the collective connection of our Kiribati community.

Photo: RIBANAIA WOMENS CLUB FACILITATORS – Top row from Left to Right: Ruta Teburea, Tiantaake Taoaba, Taemaaka Kaitara, Tiiki Kabiriera, Teramira Schutz, Sailosa Kabiriera. Bottom: Julliet Toma, Rereao Tabokai, Denise Ratieta, Maria Tioti

 

 

 

 

 

Suicide is a ‘whole of society’ problem and we all need to be involved, from government agencies to employers, friends and families. Everyone has a role to play in fostering emotional resilience so people can cope with challenges in healthier ways.

– Leilani Clarke

Raising awareness, breaking down stigma, increasing connection and responding compassionately can save lives. Evidence suggests that local grassroots projects like those supported by Le Va’s Pasifika Suicide Prevention Community Fund play an important role in helping to prevent suicide.

As a longstanding advocate for Pasifika, Le Va is honoured to once again be selected by the Ministry of Health Suicide Prevention Commissioning Office to administer part of a $3.1 million community fund which supports communities to create innovative solutions to prevent suicide.

Le Va senior manager for suicide prevention, Leilani Clarke said, “suicide is a ‘whole of society’ problem and we all need to be involved, from government agencies to employers, friends and families. Everyone has a role to play in fostering emotional resilience so people can cope with challenges in healthier ways.”

“The grassroots work of our communities addresses the loss of life due to suicide by delivering innovative prevention programmes that enhance community connectedness. Reaching out to individuals is a critical first step towards an authentic conversation and connection that saves lives.”

The Le Va Pasifika Suicide Prevention Community Fund initiative uses a strengths-based approach to enhance existing programmes and tap into the resiliency and relationships in Pasifika families and communities. The initiative has a particular focus on Pasifika in New Zealand’s rural, men, rainbow and youth communities, as well as people with lived experience of suicidal behaviour.

The Community Fund seeks to support Pasifika communities to effectively implement community-based suicide prevention initiatives so that families and communities are:
• strongly connected
• equipped with the skills to cope with distress
• actively building resilience and reducing the risks of suicide
• assisted in accessing support services and
• supported to build a strong cultural identity to enhance mental wellbeing

The Suicide Prevention Office has awarded funding of three annual rounds for the Māori and Pacific Suicide Prevention Community Funds. Administered by Te Rau Ora and Le Va, respectively, these funds go to community initiatives that support these communities.

Applications for the Le Va Suicide Prevention Community Fund will close 6 May 2022.

For more information, and to apply for funding, visit www.leva.co.nz/suicide-prevention-fund
Le Va is New Zealand’s leading not-for-profit Pasifika organisation whose work spans mental health, suicide prevention, addictions, violence prevention, public health, disability support services and cultural competency.

ENDS

We welcome media interviews, please contact

media@leva.co.nz

‘Within our ancestral voices are some true answers to healing’

– Rob Williams

The FEEL App is an emotional awareness platform that shows you how to safely share your feelings, bring about balance, understand more about yourself and then connect with others to create a community of care and trust.

Le Va had the opportunity to connect with Rob to ask him a few questions about his fearless steps during the app’s development.

What fueled your interest in this field of work?
I was inspired by a meditation methodology developed by my mentor Bert McCarthy. It helped me form a more positive relationship with my negative talking self. It helped establish equilibrium and balance within and I felt a strong desire to help others find this same balance.

Share with us the collaborations you have made to bring this dream to life?
This has been the most amazing journey of collaboration. The meditation has been translated and recorded into six different Polynesian languages: Samoan, Tongan, Cook Island, Tahitian, Hawaiian and Māori. It has also been recorded in French as well as English. So that means at least six to eight translators and 12 to 14 voice artists.

I collaborated with Bert McCarthy, my Mentor, who was influential in helping me on my mindfulness journey. Bert and I worked to form ideas around the meditation methodology and delivery.

Finally, I collaborated with Opetaia Foa’i who is recognised for his music in the Moana movie. Opetaia is one of the South Pacific’s most influential cultural and musical ambassadors.

I will say, just quietly, that each meditation track is like listening to part 2 of the Moana movie so you’re in for a truly special experience.

Why do you feel this work is important?
Creating a Polynesian meditation series with uniquely Polynesian sounds, voices and instruments opens the door to meditation for our Pasifika and Māori communities. To journey back to a true sense of home and to experience the resonance through the notes, music, voices, and words.

With this project, how might you say you have journeyed from being fearful, to fear less, to being fearless?
Applying for the Le Va Pasifika Suicide Prevention Fund was relatively straight forward and like all applications your project must fit the funding criteria. It took a little bit of time to complete but all worthwhile when you receive the call that your application was successful. The fund allowed me to bring the concept to life through creating the music and recording the narrators. I say, look at the funding criteria and if your project fits inside the criteria, then GO FOR IT!

I remember being asked once, why you are doing this? The answer is quite simple. Many years ago, I had an experience in the Cook Islands as I was standing at the base of Te Rua Manga by a rock outcrop. As I turned toward the rocks, I instantly had a moment of déjà vu . It was as though I had been there long before.

It is undeniable that we as Māori whakapapa to the islands. Therefore, I feel a calling to this work, to collaborate with our beautiful Polynesian cultures in this meditation series, with the intention of developing positivity, stability, and a balanced sense of ‘home’ within.

I think when you find a project or a ‘why’ that inspires you, that carries the weight of your ancestors, and brings about positive change then you have a responsibility to become fearless.

The Feel app meditation series is set to launch very soon! Register now to get early access at: https://thefeel.app/register-your-interest

 

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini!
The success should not be bestowed onto me alone, as it was not individual success, but the success of the collective.

As we approach the conclusion of another full year, the Le Va LifeKeepers team reflect on the year that has been.

Having travelled from the deep South to the top of the North, the LifeKeepers team have had the privilege and honour to connect with thousands of ordinary people doing extraordinary things in their communities.

It is a momentous occasion to share the collective efforts of many, bringing us now to over 8,000 certified LifeKeepers across Aotearoa New Zealand, trained in suicide prevention. This means that these incredible individuals are nestled amongst our communities supporting whānau in distress, to prevent suicide.

Preventing suicide is everybody’s business and our team of 8,000 recognise that one life lost is one too many! It is for this reason that we all work diligently to enhance and increase our Communities of C.A.R.E across the motu:

Connecting with Compassion,

Asking with Courage

Responding with Confidence and

Engaging with Community Supports

On behalf of our LifeKeepers suicide prevention team here at Le Va, we want to take the opportunity to thank each and every single one of you. We thank you for your aroha, your compassion, your care, your resilience and your mana enhancing messages of hope to protect the whakapapa of our many, here in Aotearoa New Zealand and across the Pacific.

“I just wanted to let you know how profoundly grateful I am to you, for allowing me to do this course. It has certainly changed my outlook and given me the confidence to address these difficult issues with compassion and confidence. I wish I had the opportunity to do this course a couple of years ago and also wish that others struggling with these issues were aware of it and able to access it. Thank you so much”.

Participant feedback (2021)

On behalf of the Le Va LifeKeepers team, ngā mihi o te wā, mā te atua tātou e manaaki!

• Love Somebody Charitable Trust
• Zeal Education
• Positive Vibrations Ltd
• South Waikato YMCA
• New Zealand Rugby League
• Hawkes Bay Fijian Christian Fellowship Trust
• You Thrive NZ Ltd
• Bay of Plenty Youth Development Trust
• Failoa Famili Trust
• Ribanaia Women’s Group
• Gateway Community Trust
• Auckland Rotuman Fellowship Group
• Shore Junction – PHAB Pasifika
• Takatakai Moana Ltd
• Life supporting communities NZ Trust

Once again, we received an overwhelming response from Aotearoa. Through the high calibre of applications  from our wider Pasifika community, we can see a diverse range of suicide prevention initiatives taking place.

More than 850 community members across the country participated in a workshop through our FLO: Pasifika for Life Suicide Prevention Programme over the last 12 months. Youth workers, teachers, creatives and many more, engaged in our FLO Talanoa education workshops, all now equipped with a new found confidence, knowing what to do and say if concerned about someone’s safety, and a greater understanding of where to access supports and services if needed.

Young people, alongside their families and wider support networks, attended Mental Wealth workshops in spaces such as schools, rugby league clubs and mentoring settings, armed with the skills to spot the warning signs if a friend was in distress.

New partnerships were forged and existing ones were strengthened through co-designed fonos, co-facilitated workshops and collective community engagements.

The team are excited to work on an array of new projects in new spaces in the new dawn. Watch this space!

Supported by the Ministry of Health’s Suicide Prevention office, the Le Va Pasifika Suicide Prevention Community Fund aims to empower Pasifika families and communities to prevent suicide and to respond effectively if and when a suicide occurs. Director of the Suicide Prevention Office, Carla na Nagara, says the range of groups receiving funds highlights how widespread suicide is in our communities. A recent visit by the director to fund recipient Zeal NZ provided an opportunity to see the impact of that support at the grassroots level.

The Fund seeks to support Pasifika communities to effectively implement community-based suicide prevention initiatives so that families and communities are:

Le Va Chief Executive Denise Kingi-‘Ulu’ave says, “the objectives are to build resilience within our communities, so that they are able to identify when somebody might be at risk of suicide, and then respond in a really strength based and positive way”.

A recent article from the Pacific Media Network showcases fund recipient Love Somebody Charitable Trust that is currently developing videos of well-known celebrities speaking on topics relating to mental health.

‘E fofō e le alamea le alamea’
The solutions to preventing suicide within our Pasifika communities, lie within our Pasifika communities.

We are pleased to announce the names of the recipients of the Le Va Pasifika Suicide Prevention Community Fund.

Le Va is administering the Fund on behalf of the Suicide Prevention Office to empower Pasifika families and communities to prevent suicide. We received an overwhelming response from our Pasifika communities from all over the country, with applications totalling in excess of $9 million. With an exceptionally high calibre of applications that showed innovation and heart and a fund pool of close to $1 million, the selection process proved to be even more difficult.

With the support of an external panel we have narrowed our list of 2020 recipients to these18 applicants:

Watch this space as we profile each of these exciting projects over the coming weeks via our social media channels.

 

 

‘E fofō e le alamea le alamea’
The solutions to preventing suicide within our Pasifika communities, lie within our Pasifika communities.

Le Va has been contracted by the Ministry of Health to deliver the Pasifika Suicide Prevention Community Fund. The purpose of the Community Fund is to build the capacity of Pasifika families and communities to prevent suicide and to respond effectively if and when a suicide occurs.

Le Va received a record number of applicants, with over 90 applications for community-based projects. Le Va is now proud to announce that we are able to confirm funding for 18 community projects, with a total value over $900,000. These projects reflect the vast diversity in both ethnicity and innovation in community-led solutions to preventing suicide. While a large proportion of the projects are based in the Auckland region, there are also a few projects based in other areas with large Pasifika populations such as the Waikato and Wellington regions, as well as some of our smaller cities such as Timaru and Tauranga.

The key objectives of the Community Fund are to support Pasifika families and communities to develop solutions to prevent suicide through:

• providing support to Pasifika families and communities that are experiencing suicide risk and/or are bereaved by suicide;
• prioritising population groups within our communities that are known to be at higher risk of suicidal distress;
• building inclusive communities and strengthening community resilience;
• encouraging a focus on mental health; and/or
• raising awareness about available support services.

We understand that different people with different levels of advantage require different approaches and resources to achieve equitable health outcomes. The funded projects are set to target priority groups such as youth, those bereaved by suicide or with lived experience, rural communities, LGBTQI+, and Pasifika males. Innovative approaches within these projects include sports, the creative arts, schools, churches, events and digital solutions.

We are extremely excited to see these projects unfold, so watch this space as we profile each of the 18 funded projects over the coming months, updating you all on their progress!

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.

A highlight for the year was co-facilitating Mental Wealth workshops within the rugby league grassroots community alongside our longstanding partners the New Zealand Vodafone Warriors. The workshops aimed to equip players, coaches, and families with the skills to identify the signs of mental distress, the confidence to check in on a mate, and the knowledge to know where to find the supports and services available.

“The rugby league community has really enjoyed the workshops delivered by the team at Le Va. The groundswell of clubs and teams wanting to do the workshops has only slowed by the impact of Covid-19 and one coach said they wish they had done it earlier in the year – the tools for maintaining wellbeing that Le Va shared was a big hit,” says Vodafone Warriors Welfare and Education Manager, Jerry Seuseu.

With the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns, the FLO Programme undertook steps to find innovative ways to both meet the growing demand from the community, as well as the impact on workshop deliveries. Four digital workshops via Zoom were trialled, receiving positive feedback from participants, increasing the programme’s delivery modalities to new and exciting heights.

Over the next 12 months, the FLO Programme will continue to focus on Pasifika families, ensuring they are well equipped to know how to prevent suicide, by communicating well with each, increasing their sense of strong cultural identity, connecting often with others, growing as a strong family and finding hope and courage through spirituality.

 

 

Le Va is part of the Wise Group. Copyright ©2026