NZ’s Pacific Communities are mourning the loss of Pastor Tofilau Kerupi Tavita who was laid to rest last week.
A visionary who held the development of Pacific Communities in Aotearoa dear to his heart.
Under his leadership, Immigration NZ filled places, for the first time ever, in the Samoa Quota and Pacific Access Category permanent residency schemes.
He was remembered for his constant challenging of the status quo and his faith. He was a man with big dreams. Pastor Tofilau was diagnosed with Nephritis as a child. In his late thirties this eventually led to kidney failure which meant weekly dialysis treatment for a staggering period of over fifteen years. As his wife Liz and daughter Elena shared, it didn’t define him and the way he tackled life head on.
