Pethy Tuisoso, a local Cantabrian, used to be in our administration team but has been serving as a navigator for the last year. She has a calming nature about her and is a proud Fijian woman. She is currently in France supporting the Fijian rugby team in the 2023 Rugby world cup.  

Members of the Etu Pasifika Canterbury (EPC) Mātua programme participated in the recent Pasifika Mātua Olympics, a day where elders in the Christchurch community were able to get active in a fun and engaging way. The event is fitting as globally, elders are being celebrated today as part of International Day of Older Persons.

Recent nursing graduate, Mr Leon Haiu, is setting a new benchmark for Pacific male nurses in Aotearoa, New Zealand. He is currently a Registered Nurse at Etu Pasifika Canterbury, joining a growing number of Pacific male nurses who are striving to increase visibility and representation of males in the profession (currently sitting at eight percent).

From a young age, Taliah Su'a, a New Zealand-born Samoan medical student, has been passionately committed to raising awareness about rheumatic fever, investing a significant amount of her time researching the impacts and implications of the illness.

A profile you do not want to miss. Finishing off our Tongan language 2023 profiles with our great community connector, Lana Afu. Lana has been serving with Etu Pasifika Canterbury for many years, you may recognise her from our vaccination events and our spaces in general. Have a read to see how Lana and her famili (family) celebrate Tongan language week and their heritage.

Two familiar faces for today's Tongan Language week profile but did you know that Nurse Lili and services manager Tuilavoni are a mother in law and son duo? Super special! Etu Pasifika Canterbury are truly blessed with the famili (family) connections that we have.

You may recognise him from the front desk when you come in for your appointments, one of our hosts Daniel Tanginoa enlightens us with his thoughts and connections to Tongan language week 2023

We're continuing the Tongan language week celebrations with our staff profiles. Today we see the familiar faces of our mental health nurse, Seini Falefata and her younger brother Sitaleki Tonga who is one of our navigators, share what it means for them to be Tongan.

Tongan language week 2023 is here. We caught up with some of the Tongan famili we have in clinic. Here is one of our Health Coaches, Heimoana Tatu.

Services Manager for Etu Pasifika Canterbury, Tuilavoni Lama (Voni), concludes Men's Health Week 2023 with his thoughts on wellbeing, and encourages people to 'just start', no matter where they are in their health journey.

Misimoa Lamositele (Misi) is a Health Coach at Etu Pasifika Canterbury. He is dedicated to developing long-term and sustainable health pathways for the community. Misi touches on some simple and effective things that he does to keep his thoughts clear for Men's Health Week 2023.

A familiar face at Etu Pasifika Canterbury, Dr Leone Vadei shares his thoughts about health and wellbeing, and how important it is to talk about topics that are often seen as taboo – especially amongst Pacific men.