Our Community

We are living in the most unequal of times. Natural disasters and a merciless pandemic fuel our disadvantage, resulting in unprecedented levels of Pasefika poverty.

Our Pasefika communities are experiencing the worst of the cost of living crisis, their vulnerabilities exposed to the harshness of record levels of rising food, energy , and transport prices, unmanageable housing costs, and debilitating poverty unseen since the early migration of the 40s. - it’s a constant reminder of our painful fragility, laid bare in the Productivity Commission’s latest 2023 Report showing that one in three Pacific people experience ongoing deprivation. This jumps to almost one in two for Pacific households in Counties Manukau.

“One of the factors is overcrowded households. 30% of Pacific people live in a household with multiple families, which greatly increases the likelihood of being deprived.”

Controlling for larger households, as well as how young and urban the Pacific population is, actually shows Pacific households are “no more likely than non-Pacific households to be persistently income poor or excluded” Anas winter and other natural disasters bite, our famed resilience is taking battering from the economic, social, and mental health consequences of ongoing turmoil. 

The reality for most of us is there is no respite or sense of relief around the corner anytime soon. And when real help finally arrives, it will take decades to rebuild and repair lives. In the meantime, we can all try and do what we can, with what we have, and start reaching out.

In Hawaii they say, “everybody pull the canoe together; bail and paddle, paddle and bail; and the shore will be reached”. It may take decades to get to shore, but we will ultimately get there. We need to dig deep into the wells of our histories and our stories of the migration as our guide, connector, and inspiration for our lives in Aotearoa New Zealand.