CEO of ATHWA, Makahokovalu Pailate (Maka) says sustainability is a key part of their work.
“Our approach to helping our community and the theme that has existed in our organisation across these twenty years is the one which tells the story of the man with the fish, which talks about giving a man a fish, or a rod and teaching him how to fish.
I believe in providing our people with the tools of self-sustainability; this empowers them and provides a form of education rather than just a quick fix."
Being located in Auckland which was hit hard during the Covid-19 pandemic as well as reaping the consequences of high inflation and living costs, Maka knew that quick fixes weren’t going to serve his community the way he envisioned.
Pailate says there was a high need for solutions around food, so one approach the team came up with were hand made boxes that would be filled with soil and seeds to grow vegetable harvests for families. With support through Whānau Ora funding, ATHWA have been able to provide families with the necessary resources to plant their own vegetable gardens. This is an example of sustainability that ATHWA are passionate about.
“The high cost of living affects our people immensely. We were inundated with calls for support and needed to find solutions that helped our people remain self-sustainable rather than providing quick fixes that only provided short term solutions.
We aim to educate and we also like to encourage healthy eating. Growing and harvesting crops is what we do back in the islands so we wanted to adopt that living method and provide it here."
ATHWA also provides mental health and mentoring services and believe that there are endless rewarding aspects to their daily work that keeps the organisation growing in a positive light.
“It’s so rewarding to actually help our community with a hands-on approach and then people calling up with gratitude and appreciation for the new skills, the supplies and the guidance.”
Despite ATHWA being a Tongan organisation, the families who are in need of support range from many backgrounds and ATHWA are open to serving all.
"Most of us are Tongan but we are open to everyone; these doors are open for anyone. Although our organisation is built around Tongan values, we cater to all Pasifika.
Our people are already too shy to ask for help and it’s our challenge and responsibility to help all of our families open up. Our goal is to break barriers for the community.”
Pailate expresses gratitude for the partnership ATHWA have with Pasifika Futures (PFL) and says the support allows them to continue serving families in need.