CEO and Founder of the Trust, Reverend Ikilifi Pope, says that education is the priority for their community.

“We aim to cater to the ways in which our Pasifika students learn so that we can see them succeed.” 

The TYT is currently running Akongoue, a horticultural programme that focuses on the connection between Pacific people and the land. The purpose of the programme is to teach Pacific youth who are interested in agriculture about their ancestors and the ways in which they worked the land before migrating to New Zealand.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many families in the community experienced food shortages and a lack of access to essential supplies. With the support of Pasifika Futures (PFL), food parcels and other forms of aid were distributed to families through the Tongan Youth Trust. 

However, Reverend Pope and his team could see that immediate support was not going to sustain the on-going needs that would still exist after the lockdowns were lifted. This resulted in the establishment of Akongoue and was created as a form of on-going education for youth to support them with sustainability tools for their own families.

The TYT also provides beneficial education classes; a reading class available for primary to intermediate students, and their ‘EJ5’ class which is NCEA-supported and focuses on Year 10 students through to first-year university students. 

As a father of four daughters, Reverend Pope is a leader who wants to see young people succeed. He migrated to New Zealand at a young age where he also had to navigate his way through NZ’s western education system. His hope for the organisation is that it keeps growing, so that it can continue to provide good pathways for youth. 

“I want to see the Tongan Youth Trust grow across the country - we need support and we need more resources. We have a model that supports youth and their families and that is what makes us different. We also want to branch out into other Pasifika groups and provide for all.”

Reverend Pope considers his job very rewarding and is passionate about the growth of future generations. 

“I've seen the lives of young people change and it's truly immeasurable. It’s really rewarding seeing hope in a family when they think about what their future looks like.”