Business North November 2021

106 | COMMUNITY K’aute Pasifika Trust Work starts on Waikato Pasifika hub Karen Phelps K’aute Pasifika Trust, a charitable trust based in Hamilton, which provides health, education and social services to Pasifika communities and other ethnicities. I t’s been a project over 20 years in the making but construction has now officially started on Waikato’s Pan Pacific Community Hub. K’aute Pasifika Trust, a charitable trust based in Hamilton, which provides health, education and social services to Pasifika com- munities and all other ethnicities who wish to access the services, is leading the project. Chief executive of the Trust Leaupepe Rachel Karalus says that the hub will totally transform the way Pacifika are supported in the region. Unlike other parts of New Zealand, the Pacifica community in the Waikato is wide- spread. When Pacific leaders came together all those years ago to see how better out- comes for their community could be achieved one of the main things identified was the need for a community space to bring people togeth- er to ensure the needs of the community were understood and met. Once completed the hub will include an open fale-style community space for pro- grammes as well as community and cultural events including an annual Pasifika festival, early learning centre, GP services and phar- macy. Rachel says a holistic approach to assisting people will be taken with the family, rather than an individual, placed at the centre. “It’s still in development but together with our GP partner Primary Health Care Ltd we envis- age a GP service where the family is given a room and the GP comes and meets with the family rather than the other way around. If during that session other needs, such as housing, are identified then the GP will leave and someone else would come in to assist with that. It’s about providing wrap around services that all work in together to best assist the family.” It’s a model strongly developed in collabora- tion with the community and different Pasifika ethnicities to meet specific community need. “Pasifika ethnicities are different but all share similarities and commonalities that we are leveraging to help people. In order to have an impact we must come together and support each other to see the outcomes we all want to for families.” Situated in Hamilton, the central location of the hub on public transport routes will make it more accessible. Rachel points out that transportation remains a key barrier for many Pasifika families and so the hub will also deliv- er services direct into local communities. By 2038 it is projected that one in five children will be of Pasifika ethnicity in New Zealand. That being the case if this community is not doing well it has a real impact on every New Zealander, she says. Rachel, who is also on the board on the Pacific Business Trust, would like to see this organisation and others delivering workshops at the hub. She says the benefits of learning can be multi generational and positively affect whole families. She also envisages government agencies coming into the hub to build relationships and trust with Pasifika communities to achieve better outcomes. Rachel has a special connection to the Pan Pacific Community Hub – her mother Elisapeta was the inaugural chief executive all those years ago. Rachel admits it’s exciting to see it finally coming to fruition – the early learning centre will open early 2022 and the fale later that year - although acknowledges there is still plenty of work to be done. “The more impactful part than the actual building is the well-being model developed by community and the better outcomes for families that will result. It’s a model we hope could be replicated in other communities in New Zealand.” FOR THE PAN PACIFIC HUB COMMUNITY CENTRE PROJECT SURVEYORS