The Pasifika Autism Support Group (PASG ) in Wellington welcomed a new initiative to help families in need.
The Alofa Tunoa Trust was launched at Chipmunks in Tawa last month to help those individuals and families with disabilities by providing essential support.
The trust is run by Anna and Leota Daniel Filemoni who also lead PASG Wellington.
“It is a trust that my husband and I founded for our disability, neurodiverse and disabled peoples here in Wellington.
“A lot of the parents that come through our support group as well as our trusts, are quite new to the journey,” says Anna.
Anna and Leota Tanielu Filemona are parents to 7 years old Tevita, who is non-verbal and was diagnosed with Autism(ASD) and Global Development Delay (GDD) three years ago.
They wanted to help other families who are struggling to find help. Leota recalls all too well, the struggle to find help and support when Tevita was diagnosed.
“I think the biggest thing for me as a Samoan father, is you’re never alone in the journey. It definitely feels like you’re alone,” he says.
“But I think that’s why we established this trust. That was more around an enabler for our communities, people’s families, to come together.”
The trust is designed to help families navigate where to find help in community gatherings and online at ‘alofatunoatrust.com’.
By going to the website families can access a wide range of local services including advocacy, education, support groups and resource Links.
“A lot of work has gone into getting us here, but we know that there is more to be done and it’s a collaborative approach with everyone,” Leota says.
“You can reach out to anyone, as well as us, and connect to other parents as well, just to talanoa and share about the journey,” says Anna.
Samoan Diana Faapo’s teenage son Mathais has Autism, like many parents and caregivers in the group, she is grateful for the work the trust is doing not only to her children but also for the wider community.
“Unless you live with autism, you don’t know how important this is to our community, our autism community. So just being here or even being a part of it, it’s a really, it’s a huge deal,” Diana says.
“It’s actually just nice to be, just to fit in, you know. Fitting in and just being a part of something where he can just be himself and we as parents won’t be judged.”
