NEWSROOM: 16 December - 22 December 2007

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2008 from Event Polynesia
22 December 2007 - Source: eventpolynesia.com
 
At the beginning of this year, we all wondered what 2007 will bring. Just before Christmas, we sit and look back over the year that was. And what a year it has been!!

This year we have been blessed and our lives enriched through meeting and being in touch with so many remarkable people.

The passing away of more great leaders of the Pacific were sad moments we all collectively shared. While we differ in opinion in how to compact the war against "terrorism," least we forget the sons and daughters of the Pacific serving around the world for freedom and peace, in particular the families of those that have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Through Event Polynesia Multimedia, we have endeavoured to provide a vehicle for our Pacific people to tell their stories and be heard, particularly with our online website portal www.eventpolynesia.com.

Through Event Polynesia Boxing and Event Polynesia Entertainment, we hope to provide a platform to showcase the talents of the Pacific.

Next year we will launch Event Polynesia Tours as an extension of our service. Keep watching this space.

And so before we sign off for 2007, we would like to thank each and every one of our readers, supporters and contributors and do appreciate all the advertisers who recognize our readership, coverage and brand strength.

A special acknowledgment goes out to our business associates and event partners as we strive to provide a robust marketing vehicle to promote your services and products.

From the Event Polynesia Team, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
 

PHB Introduction to Smoking Cessation workshop
21 December 2007 - Source: Pacific Islands Heartbeat Press Release
 
Pacific Islands Heartbeat present free training opportunities for Health Professionals and Community Health Workers who work with Pacific People in New Zealand.

Introduction to Smoking Cessation (2 modules over two days).

This training is intended for health professionals (nurses and community health workers) to enhance their knowledge and skills in providing brief advice to patients/smokers and support them by making appropriate referrals to services that can help them in the quit process if they are not registered.

The program also provides capacity for participants and service providers to become Quit Card providers (if not registered) through the completion of the Cessation Practitioner Training Module 3 and registration with the Quit Card programme.

The course has a deliberate emphasis on what is culturally relevant and appropriate for Pacific people.

Workshop contents include:
The training is based on the Revised New Zealand Smoking Cessation Guidelines 2007. Other topics discussed in the training include; ‘The Pacific Community and their issues’; ‘Providing and giving brief advice’; ‘Communication Skills and Pacific Cultures’; ‘Application of Knowledge and skills’; ‘Relevant Strategies and Support for Pacific Smokers’, etc.

Date: 30 & 31 January 2008
Venue: National Heart Foundation Building Seminar room, 9 Kalmia Street, Ellerslie, AUCKLAND
Time: 9:30am – 2.30pm
Cost: FREE
Morning and Afternoon tea will be provided

For more information please contact:
Jane Tariau, PIHB Smoking Cessation Training Facilitator
DDI: (09) 571 9191 ext.707
Fax: (09) 571 9190
Email: janet@nhf.org.nz
 

Te Vaka produces remix for environment
20 December 2007 - Source: Greenpeace Australia Pacific Press Release
 
Greenpeace today launched a remix of New Zealand based Pacific group Te Vaka's song "Our Ocean, Our Future, Our Choice."

In 2004 Te Vaka, one of the most successful bands in Polynesia wrote the song for Greenpeace and it now features in their latest album titled "Olatia".

Meshing traditional Polynesian drumbeats with socially conscious messages sung in Tokelauan, Tuvaluan and Samoan, Olatia's heart belongs to the people it tries to inspire, and to the environment it intends to see saved from ill use and neglect.

The "Our Ocean" song is a remixed version of Te Vaka's passionate call as Pacific Islanders to regional leaders, and to the world's fishing industry, to ensure the Pacific tuna fishery survives large scale commercial fishing. The group's leader, singer and lyricist Opetaia Foa'i, is committed to the social, political and economic causes of the peoples of the Pacific Seas.

Mr Foa'i said Pacific Islanders have deep-rooted cultural bonds with the ocean.

"I enjoy the issues; trying to get the messages across . . . The issues need to be highlighted. I just don't see any sense in just writing a song that does not say anything. I am very concerned about what has happened in the Pacific mainly environmentally. Most of the people cannot say anything, but I can say something, in the language of the South Pacific,'' he said.

"We are pleased to collaborate with Greenpeace and raise environmental awareness in the Pacific."

Greenpeace Australia Pacific Oceans Team leader Nilesh Goundar said the Pacific was at the forefront of environmental degradation on both land and sea.

"We join Te Vaka in reminding our people that true sustainability must feature as a priority in our developmental aspirations," he said.

"As we prepare for Christmas and the New Year, we hope that as this song hits the airwaves it will remind us of the delicate balance of our fragile ecosystems that we peoples of the Pacific need to respect and protect."

Notes:
Te Vaka is an Oceanian musical group. It was founded in 1995 in New Zealand by Opetaia Foa'i. The band has twelve members. They come from many different countries. Opetaia Foa'i was born in Western Samoa and his parents were from Tokelau and Tuvalu. The lyrics of the band are in the Tokelauan language. The name of the band means "the canoe" in the Tokelauan language.

Te Vaka is a unique group of thirteen musicians and dancers from Tokelau, Tuvalu, Samoa, Cook Islands, and New Zealand bought together under the inspired leadership of Opetaia Foa'i.

Their current album titled "Olatia" features a version of this song written for Greenpeace. For more information: www.tevaka.com
 

Pegasus Health Announces Maori and Pacific Scholarship Winners
19 December 2007 - Source: Pegasus Health Press Release
 
A father of three who took the leap and enrolled at medical school on being made redundant from his truck-driving job is one of six recipients of this year’s Pegasus Health Maori and Pacific Scholarships.

Fifth year Christchurch School of Medicine student Eli Leckey received his Pegasus scholarship at a ceremony in Christchurch recently. The scholarship will be a welcome supplement to his only income at this time – a student loan.

“My wife and I would like to show our three boys that you can achieve goals and that education is very important,” says Eli.

“Many Maori do not get the opportunity to go to university – my mother and father never went, and neither did my brothers and sisters.”

“I struggled at school, left at the end of the fifth form and was expected to go on to become a farm worker, work in the mines or do some other labouring job. Now my children talk about going to university. I’m changing my life, not only for me, but also for my family so they can also become what they want to be.”

Eli plans to work in rural health on graduation in 2008 and following his house surgeon years.

“The number of Maori doctors in rural areas number less than 1% of the total doctors in New Zealand. Growing up in rural areas, I have seen the impacts of this first hand.”
Pacific nursing students, Sereima Cokanasiga and Fonofili Taefu Pearce, and Maori nursing students, Lisa Silk and Kressy Bryant, along with medical student, Kiri Wicksteed, also received scholarships from Pegasus Health this year.

About the Pegasus Health Maori and Pacific scholarships:

The scholarships were established in 2001 to encourage young Maori and Pacific Island students to train to work in the health sector.

“While 16% of New Zealand’s population is Maori, just 2% of its general practitioners are,” says Pegasus Health Managing Director Dr Paul McCormack.
“Pacific people make up 7% of our population – yet only 1.5% of our GPs identify as being of Pacific descent,” adds Dr Api Talemaitoga, a Pegasus Health Pacific GP.
“The figures for nurses and allied professionals would be similar – and it’s an issue right across the health sector.”

Dr Matea Gillies, a GP who sits on Pegasus Health’s Maori Reference Group, says that encouraging young Maori and Pacific workers to train as doctors, nurses and allied health professionals not only opens the doors to new careers for those who might not otherwise consider them, but can remove barriers for some patients.

“There are lots of barriers to people accessing health care, but having the option of seeing someone of the same culture can sometimes mean the difference between visiting a health professional and not.”

“When they do see a health professional, some people will respond quite differently to a person of the same culture than they would somebody from another. I know that in my practice there are patients who will tell me things they wouldn’t otherwise disclose because they know I am Maori.”

Dr Talemaitoga says that being sensitive to individual cultural barriers can make all the difference.

“We ran a ‘buddy’ programme recently to try and encourage Pacific women to undergo cervical screening – friends made appointment for women to get screened and attended the appointments too. It made all the difference to have that support.”
Tagaloa Su’a, Manager of Tangata Atumotu Trust, agrees.

The trust is one of a number of Pacific providers in Christchurch delivering mobile nursing and health promotion services to Pacific people. It is an accessible and culturally effective service set up to address barriers to accessing health care.

“The service began because of the huge demand for Samoan nurses to provide free care to sick people in the community after they’d finished working their ‘day jobs’ in hospitals. The project started out as the Samoan Nurse Association, but soon went pan-Pacific.”

Tagaloa says while there is clear demand for Pacific health workers across the board, supply remains light.

“There are shortages right throughout the sector – we need nurses, doctors, occupational therapists, physios, counsellors, the whole lot.”

“What Pegasus is doing is fantastic – they are taking a very responsible attitude towards the problem, and initiatives like the scholarships and Pegasus’ wider Pacific initiatives really do help.”

“As well as helping financially, the scholarships make young people aware that they have a choice. They begin to see that a career in health is an option.”

Pegasus Health has invested more than $200,000 in the scholarships programme over the past six years, and more again into cultural education programmes for its practice teams.

“While there are excellent services targeted specifically at Maori and Pacific patients, by far the majority of care is still provided by general practice doctors and nurses,” says Dr McCormack. “All of our practice teams have the opportunity to undergo education programmes to help them better understand the individual needs of these groups.”

The winners:

Maori Nursing Scholarship Winners:
• Lisa Silk of Ngati Kahungunu descent is in her final year of studying towards a bachelor of nursing degree at CPIT
• Kressy Bryant of Nga Mahanga Otiri and Te Ati Awa iwi is in her second year of nursing training

Maori Medical Scholarship winners:
• Kiri Wicksteed, of Tuhoe Whakatohea and Tuwharetoa iwi, is a 4th year medical student
• Eli Leckey, of Ngati Porou and Nga Puhi 5th year medical student at the Christchurch School of Medicine

Samoan Nursing Scholarship Winners:
• Fonofili Taefu Pearce, of Samoan descent
• Sereima Cokanasiga, of Fijian descent, in her second year of a nursing degree at Otago Polytechnic


Kressy Bryant
“The health system so desperately needs Maori health professionals.”

Nursing student and Pegasus Health Maori Scholarship winner Kressy Bryant grew up surrounded by people working in and around the health field – and even though it took her some time to commit to both her own nursing training and her Maori heritage, she’s never looked back.

“Mum has worked as a nurse since I was five years old and our neighbour was a nurse too. Dad works as an environmental health officer – so I am surrounded by health, really.”

However, it took a frustrating stint working in a low-functioning dementia unit for Kressy to take the leap into nursing training.

“We had a very high turnover of registered nurses, and each one would give us a different set of instructions and belittle the previous nurse’s work. I got really sick of it and thought the only way to really find out what is right is to become one.”

Kressy only recently embraced her Nga Mahanga Otiri and Te Ati Awa Maori heritage, having been brought up in a European family.

“My mother is Maori, but was adopted out as birth. When I finally met her birth family, I felt at home for the first time – ever.”

Just two years into her nursing training, Kressy says just 80 of her original class of 130 remains – with only a handful of Maori students.

“Of those just three ‘look’ Maori, etc. There are a few others who identify as being 1/35th Maori, that kind of thing. But so few who would put their hand up and say they’re Maori.”

Part of that, Kressy says, is the fear that not having te reo skills makes them somehow ‘lesser’ in terms of their Maori heritage.

“I was quite iffy about even applying for the scholarship at first,” says Kressy, “because I don’t speak Maori and therefore don’t feel 100% Maori. Another girl I encouraged to apply said she felt like it was wrong, like she was abusing the system because she had been labelled as a plastic Maori in the past by other Maori for her lack of knowledge about her heritage.”

Kressy says it’s time to move on from the idea that a person needs to live and breathe it in order to take pride in their heritage.

“We need to accept that there is a broader range of people who identify as Maori, beyond those who speak the language. The health system so desperately needs Maori health professionals.”

Kressy says the scholarship money will make all the difference to her studies – and her life.

“It might not sound like much money to most people – but it’s the most money I’ve seen in a long time. It’ll buy me a laptop and make the work so much easier. Before this I’ve had to go into polytech after hours to get things done, sometimes until three or four in the morning – I couldn’t afford a taxi home, so I used to find it quite scary walking home in the early hours.”

“The laptop will mean safety and security – it’s a great feeling.”

Kiri Wicksteed
“Hopefully this will encourage other Maori students to get involved in heath…”
Fourth year Otago University medical student Kiri Wicksteed was one of four Maori students to receive a Pegasus Health Scholarship at a ceremony in Christchurch recently.

“There is a real shortage of Maori doctors for Maori people so it is an honour to be recognised as a Maori student going through medical school. Hopefully this will encourage other Maori students to get involved in health,” says Kiri.

A love of sciences led Kiri to university four years ago but it was an open day at Otago Medical School that really sealed the deal. “Since starting my medical training I have not had one days regret.”

“The statistics are not good for Maori health. I don’t think this is going to change overnight but if we get more Maori doctors working in Maori health it will go a long way to making improvements long-term.”

“There are still many cultural barriers out there that need to be broken down – many Maori people don’t trust the health system. We need doctors and nurses who understand the needs and cultural background of Maori – this is where we will see big changes in attitudes,” she says.

Kiri belongs to both the Tuhoe Whakatohea and Tuwharetoa iwi. “I grew up in Christchurch but my whanau is from the North in Opotiki and Ruatoki.”

After three years training Kiri is excited to have embarked on her practical training.
“This year we are starting to come face-to-face with patients – this is what it’s all about and it has been really affirming of my decision to become a doctor.”

Kiri has not decided what field of medicine she will practice when she graduates, saying that she wants to get experience before she makes any firm decisions.

“The scholarship has really taken the pressure off for this coming year – instead of having to get a job on top of school I can really concentrate on my studies.”

“The scholarship does mean more than just money though – the support we get from Wendy Dallas-Katoa and everyone else at Pegasus Health is outstanding,” she says.

Lisa Silk
“…encouragement that you are doing something as a Maori student that is worthwhile…”

Lisa Silk (Ngati Kahungunu) says the money from her Pegasus Health Maori Health Scholarship will make a difference to her at an individual level, but the difference it could make on a wider scale is just as important.

“Winning the award is important to me because it is encouragement and acknowledgement that you are doing something as a Maori student that is worthwhile. But more than that, encouraging young Pacific students into health can potentially make a difference beyond their own lives to other individuals, families and communities.”

Lisa is in her final year of nursing studies at CPIT, so she has had plenty of opportunities to work with patients.

“I think Maori clients do identify with me quicker than they might non-Maori health workers. It helps build a rapport faster and that is always a good thing.”
Lisa says she chose nursing as a career partly as a result of her own personal experiences – both good and bad.

“My own experiences with different health workers were not always nice. However, I have also met some great nurses who were inspiring, and I was able to see through them how nursing can create change and make a difference in peoples’ lives.”

Eli Leckey
“I’m changing my life, not only for me, but also for my family so they can also become what they want to be.”

A father of three who took the leap and enrolled at medical school on being made redundant from his truck-driving job is one of six recipients of this year’s Pegasus Health Maori and Pacific Scholarships.

Fifth year Christchurch School of Medicine student Eli Leckey received his Pegasus scholarship at a ceremony in Christchurch last week. The scholarship will be a welcome supplement to his only income at this time – a student loan.

“My wife and I would like to show our three boys that you can achieve goals and that education is very important,” says Eli.

“Many Maori do not get the opportunity to go to university – my mother and father never went, and neither did my brothers and sisters.”

“I struggled at school and left at the end of the fifth form and was expected to go on to become a farm worker, work in the mines or do some other labouring job. Now my children talk about going to university. I’m changing my life, not only for me, but also for my family so they can also become what they want to be.”

Eli is of Ngapuhi and Ngati Porou descent. He plans to work in rural health on graduation in 2008 and following his house surgeon years.

“The number of Maori doctors in rural areas number less than 1% of the total doctors in New Zealand. Growing up in rural areas, I have seen the impacts of this first hand.”

Sereima Cokanasiga
“Nothing would ever deter me from this path, but to win a scholarship for doing what I love is just Christmas.”

After helping nurse her grandparents and watch them struggle to get proper care through the Fijian health system, Sereima Cokanasiga knew she had to do something.
“That was my defining moment – I knew then and there I wanted to be a nurse, to do my bit to make improvements to the health system. I told myself that I couldn’t just stand by and let things fail – I needed to be an advocate.”

Sereima is in her second year of her nursing degree at Otago Polytechnic and received a Pegasus Pacific Health Scholarship in Christchurch recently. The scholarship will go a long way to helping Sereima pay for course related and travelling expenses.

“The scholarship is a real achievement for me. I came here from Fiji in 2004 knowing that I wanted to become a nurse and work in the Pacific community and this has given me a real boost.”

“We need more Pacific health professionals working in the community. At this time there are very few Fijians working in the community.”

“We need a good mix of all Pacific cultures to run Pacific community health and ensure the health messages are getting out to the right places. A good example of success in this regard would be the recent cervical screening programme – this illustrates what we can do when people come together,” she says.

Sereima is one busy nursing student – she is also doing a course on childcare and community as well as working part-time as a caregiver for the elderly.

“This certificate is great because it is really giving me the good basics for community care across all levels – childcare, the elderly and disabled.”

“I love what I do – I really believe I was born to look after people. Nothing would ever deter me from this path but to win a scholarship for doing what I love is just Christmas,” she says. “Nothing would ever deter me from this path but to win a scholarship for doing what I love is just Christmas.”
 

Sir Barry Curtis completes Lion Foundation Hall of Champions
18 December 2007 - Source: TelstraClear Pacific Press Release
 
Recently the unveiling of the final caricature completed one of New Zealand’s largest indoor murals, The Lion Foundation Hall of Champions at TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre in Manukau.

The addition of Sir Barry Curtis, New Zealand’s longest serving Mayor from 1984 – 2007, was completed by artist Otis Frizzell. The image of Sir Barry wearing his Mayoral Chains is complemented with his traditional Manukau welcome including “Manukau – New Zealand’s most progressive city”.

The private unveiling was a very humbling experience for Sir Barry and is now available for public view.

“It was only fitting to recognize Sir Barry alongside our other Counties Manukau hero’s for without his support and vision the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre would never have been realized” said Noel Robinson, Chairman of the Counties Manukau Trust that developed and operates the Events Centre on behalf of the community.

The Mural also includes Counties Manukau legends – Barbara Kendall, John Walker, Sir Edmund Hillary, Phil Fuemana, Sir Woolf Fisher, Yvette Williams, Possum Bourne and David Lange.

For further information contact: Richard Jeffery, CEO TelstraClear Pacific via mobile: (021) 521 833, or email: ceo@pacific.org.nz
 

NZ academic warns of more Pacific riots
17 December 2007 - Source: ABC Radio Australia
 
A New Zealand university professor has warned that riots in Tonga and the Solomon Islands targeting Chinese immigrants could flare up in other parts of the pacific

Associate Professor John Henderson of Canterbury University was addressing the New Zealand parliament's foreign affairs select committee.

The MPs are holding an inquiry into New Zealand's relations with South Pacific countries.

Eight people died during the riots last year in the Tongan capital, Nuku'alofa and it has been reported that some Tongan business owners used the riot to target their more successful Chinese rivals.

In April, riots in the Solomons were sparked by the election of Snyder Rini as prime minister, with allegations the elections were heavily influenced by Asia.

Professor Henderson has told the select committee it is possible Vanuatu and Fiji, where it is estimated there are more than 20,000 Chinese, could experience the same violence.

He says the need to protect its overseas community could be used by China as a justification for ramping up its military presence in the Pacific.
 

Preserving the art of making Samoan fine mats
16 December 2007 - Source: TV3
 
Samoan fine mats were once considered so valuable that just one could buy several acres of land, or even free a man condemned to death.

These days, the mats are still precious but the skills of making them have been lost to many Samoan women, the traditional weavers of the mats.

But a group of enterprising Samoan women are reviving this art and New Zealanders are helping them do it.

Women in Business is helping to revive the art with help from Oxfam New Zealand.
"It is a very old tradition and the Samoan fine mat is a very important part of Samoan culture, but it seems to have lost its value over the years where they are now using very large hard mats as opposed to the very fine beautiful mats that they used in the old days," says Adi Tafunai from Women in Business.

A mat usually takes about eight months to complete, but some can take years.
The sacred cloths are never used on the floor.

They are worn at important events, given as gifts or exchanged as a form of currency.
"Historically they were used by the high chiefs in Samoa for formal presentations and mothers made a fine mat when they had daughters, it was the bride's bridal wear and used very traditionally in traditional Samoan ceremonies and clothing for the chiefly people," Tafunai adds.

The mats are so special they are made only on commission.

And for each mat, a woman will receive nearly NZ$2,000, which is a good salary in Samoa.

Tourism is one reason the skills have missed a couple of generations, leading to a demand for cheaper mats, of much poorer quality.

This project is not just about reviving a sacred tradition it is also about providing an income in an area where there are no jobs, no ways to make money, and the people here still largely live off the land but they do need money for basics like medical attention and school fees.

30-year-old Apiseka is considered the best fine mat weaver in Samoa.

She lives on Savai'i with her husband Falefa and their three children.

They have electricity, but no running water.

Before she started weaving, they had no income.

"Now there is a lot of money to look after my family and my children's education," Apiseka says happily.
 

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