An estimated 250 people came together on Friday night to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pacific Trust Otago (PTO), a Dunedin-based charity that provides free health and social support services to Otago’s Pacific communities.
Chief executive Fa’animo Elisara-Too said the event was a celebration of key milestones and achievements from over the trust’s 25-year journey which had not been an easy one.
Funding in the early stages of the organisation had been limited. It mostly existed off grants, but it had been able to sustain itself to continue with the support of its partners and communities.
The Covid-19 pandemic had also been a tough time for their communities, Mrs Elisara-Too said.
"It could have broken us, but it didn’t."
A lot of people had not had the ability to communicate digitally and the "digital world" had been a foreign thing for a lot of elders, she said.
But the pandemic had instead shone a light on issues that had gone unacknowledged, and the trust had gone "above and beyond" in reaching out to its people.
"There was a lot of isolation, people were scared of the unknown . . ."
"It was hard and it wasn’t just hard for just our community, it was hard for everyone, but we rose above that.
"If anything, it brought our communities closer together."
Over the past 25 years, the trust had provided a platform for all the different island nations to come together — becoming a "go-to" place for many Pasifika people, Mrs Elisara-Too said.
It did not exist just for the sake of existing, but because its communities had got behind it after recognising that their needs were being met and there were people that truly cared.
The 25th anniversary celebrations were really about the communities the trust supported, she said.
"We’ve been able to sustain the organisation, but had our communities not been there with us, to walk that journey with us, I don’t think we would be here where we are now."
The event featured cultural performances from the Tokelauan, Tongan, Fijian and Samoan communities and an address from Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich.
