Pacific social wellbeing programmes go digital
Vaka Tautua has shifted two social wellbeing programmes online to ensure our Pacific families in Auckland still have access to much needed services and support.
2020 graduates of the Family Wellbeing Programme (delivered in person in Alert Level 1) with Suzanne Joseph (Front row, far right).
“With this long lockdown in Auckland, we faced the challenge of how to provide ongoing services and support to our Pacific community, many of whom are experiencing even more pressures than usual,” said Suzanne Joseph, Vaka Tautua Auckland’s Team Leader for Aiga Fiafia (Social Services).
“Offering our programmes online, while it is not the same as face-to-face, seemed like the only option during lockdown. Our families are happy we went ahead with this new model.”
The programmes that have moved online are the Family Wellbeing Programme and the Parenting Programme. The first is focused on improving Pacific families’ health and wellbeing through better financial knowledge and decision-making. The six-week programme involves group sessions and one-to-one support on saving, budgeting, banking and existing support services.
The Parenting Programme is focused on supporting positive parenting skills. The eight-week programme, which is also delivered in group sessions, covers positive parenting skills, communication, and relationships.
Both programmes were trialled with families using digital platforms such as Zoom for sessions, and group communications sent through Microsoft Teams. Despite some teething issues at the start, the Aiga Fiafia team began successfully delivering the programmes to 38 families this month.
“We were a bit a nervous, delivering the programmes online for the first time, but everything is going well and the initial feedback from the families has been very positive,“ said Suzanne.
“They have really enjoyed the flexibility, being able to change the session times to suit them better, having some in the weekends and also doubling up on some sessions. Our families have really enjoyed taking control of their learning.”
Auckland Regional Manager, Pat Masina, is also pleased with the progress and says Vaka Tautua is looking at how other programmes and services can be modified and delivered online.
“One of the key learnings from COVID is that we need to be flexible and adaptable to ensure our communities receive the services and support they need. This experience has confirmed online service delivery and learning can work for our Pacific communities.”
Learn more about Vaka Tautua’s Aiga Fiafia: Social Services.