Vision

Lalaga Pasifika was formed to provide support and advocacy for Pasifika families, and also to serve as a platform of engagement for agencies. We hope to ensure that services are responsive to the culture, needs and aspirations of our communities. We believe that Pasifika people continue to make a positive contribution to Aotearoa, New Zealand - and in doing so, lift socio-economic aspirations for all.

Our vision is founded on the family unit, and recognises that a stable and secure family home is the basic structure required to build strong communities. The pillars of each home are: family, housing, education, independence, identity, health and faith.

‘Lalaga’ or ‘Lalanga’ is a pan-pacific term that means ‘to weave’, hence the weaving together of different strands to form a strong and cohesive social fabric.

Values

1. Family - the building blocks of community

2. Housing - stable, healthy and secure homes

3. Education - our passport to the future

4. Independence - having positive options

5. Identity - maintaining culture, language and identity

6. Health - physical & mental wellbeing

7. Faith - spiritual wellbeing

Our story

The motives behind Pasifika forebears choosing to leave their island homes in search of lands of ‘milk and honey’ are well understood and shared with other immigrant stories from around the world.

Each decision is a seed that is formed with the hope that some day in the future, a new generation will sit under the shade of a tree that was planted years before its time. Some trees grow to full maturity and produce a network of branches - aiga, whānau, families, and individuals who are tasked to see the vision through to fruition. Any tree which has been uprooted and replanted in new soil needs time and energy to adapt to its ecosystem. Some are able to find the nutrients, water and oxygen required to germinate and grow. Others may struggle with the trophic responses needed to navigate in its new environs.

The Lalaga Foundation (formerly the Totara Seed Trust) recognises that though some trees grow well independently and are able to seek out the resources required to thrive, others need to be tended collectively and have access to shared support. The trust was established to provide the support and sustenance our families need to become self-sufficient and most importantly develop the ability to provide in kind for the generations to follow.