Pasifika Family Wellness Project
Courageous and hopeful talanoa to navigate family violence within our Pasifika Communities in Naarm
The Pasifika Family Wellness Project was set up and developed as part of the Victorian Government program to support and address family violence during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, response and recovery.
The purpose of the Pasifika Family Wellness Project was:
To communicate family wellness and family violence from a Pasifika Perspective that will: uphold Pasifika core values and beliefs; ensure culturally responsive language to ground, lead and inform our solutions within our community.
The Pasifika Family Violence Project Team would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land, the Wjurundjerri People of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to their elders of both past, present and emerging and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.
Our Stories
“Ina kei te mohio koe ko wai koe, i anga mai koe i hea, kei te mohio koe. Kei te anga atu ki hea.” If you know who you are and where you are from, then you will know where you are going. (Maōri Proverb)
As Pasifika our conversations always begin with connecting with one another through Talanoa. Talanoa is a common Pasifika concept that can be referred to as a conversation, a talk, an exchange of ideas or thinking, either formally or informally. The ancient practice of Talanoa is multi-level and multi-layered critical discussions and free conversations (Vaoleti, 2006).
Our stories express our strengths, our challenges, barriers and our enablers. This project shares three unique stories of migration to Melbourne, Australia from our community leaders, from the Islands of Aotearoa, Samoa and Fiji. The aim of these stories was to ground and lay a foundation for safe conversations to come from our strengths.
Our Talanoa
“Fofola e fala kae talanoa e kāinga” is a Tongan metaphor that literally means, 'Roll out the mat so the family can dialogue'.
Over the course of this project our stories were shared as we each spoke of our journey and key experiences that shaped us. We also shared our heart for our community in Melbourne, Australia. Through these stories a paper was authored to bring together our shared knowledge and understanding of family wellness and family violence. The intention of this paper was to help ground and guide the prevalence of family violence in our community.
Our Solution
“E fofo le alamea le alamea” means that solutions for a community lie within the same community.
As we analysed our talanoa, key themes arose and this organically presented a whole of community pathway forward to navigate family violence. This pathway is presented as a strategy that centres Pasifika wellness, strengths and ways of knowing, being and doing at the centre and provides a way forward for community to lead the way. We warmly invite you to review our strategy and contribute where you feel called to.
“We have to be revolutionary in our pursuits. Can’t be passengers, we have to channel our ancestral navigator strength.”
— Associate Professor., Damon Salesa