“You could never quantify just how valuable their contribution has been. One dinner celebration could never repay them for their service but it’s the first time something like this has been done” (Tuilaepa Tumama Tu’ulua).
A special ceremony was held in Christchurch last week, honouring Pacific early learning centre teachers, who have served in the community for over 30 years.
Christchurch has six Pacific early learning centres and together they formed a collective called the Pacific Early Learning Services (PELS).
PELS was a Ministry of Education project through the Pacific Innovation Fund.
The event brought together staff, family and community to acknowledge teachers and educators who have been serving their community.
Former alumni and ex-student of the Mapusaga Aoga Amata (one of the six early learning centres in Christchurch), Tuilaepa Tumama Tu’ulua understands the importance these learning places have in the community.
In 2023 when he and his wife Kalameli were approached to write up a recruitment strategy which resulted into last week’s event, they did not hesitate.
“An opportunity came up for someone to write, and then deliver on, a recruitment strategy for PELS” Tumama said.
“Kalameli was already doing this type of work with another community group as part of her Masters, so she put in her proposal. Her proposal was just to write the recruitment strategy, allowing PELS the flexibility to decide who and how they wanted to deliver it”
“They must’ve liked the proposal because Kalameli won it and she began formulating and putting together the strategy. It involved interviewing centre staff and management, parents, and community members both in person interviews and online surveys. We presented it in December and both the centres and Ministry of Education were really impressed”
The strategy was broken down into three key goals.
- Strengthening the pipeline
How do we strengthen pathways for people to engage in ECE as a study and career pathway? Also about attracting staff and tamaiti to Pacific centres. - Create and refine brand
Creating PELS brand and promoting our centres - Retaining and developing current staff
How do we provide pathways for our staff to upskill but also be celebrated and acknowledged
After piecing together the strategy, both Tumama and Kalameli thought that that would be the end of everything.
“But in February they asked us, how much of what we proposed could we deliver, and having a wide range of experiences within education we put together a proposal to deliver a number of projects and we have been doing that until now” Tumama said
“This work has ranged from delivering events, attending events, content creation, social media, design, resources creation, creating programmes and more”
It’s been a full circle moment for Tumama himself, being able to collaborate and help out with the same community and educators who had a hand in shaping his life.
And now with two daughters who are also in one of the pacific centres, it’s been a rewarding moment for him and his wife in doing what they can.
“Working with our centres in this space has been a blessing. It’s not easy to do what they do. Teaching is tough. Doing it in ECE (Early Childhood Education), within the Pacific space, in Christchurch is even tougher” he said
“To be able to play a small part in supporting these centre managers in moving forward has been awesome. They’re busy running centres and looking after staff and tamaiti. We can come in with a different lens and perspective and get things moving that people haven’t had time for as well do stuff that people hadn’t thought of. It’s been tough but really rewarding”
Whilst reflecting on his time as a student at Mapusaga Aoga Amata, Tumama was able to honour two of his former teachers at last week’s event.
And both still teach and play a massive part at the Mapusaga Aoga Amata.
“Fa’amavaega Saofa’i, along with (faletua) Elisapeta Vili, were the pioneers at starting Mapusaga Aoga Amata”
“I was part of the early play groups for Mapusaga Aoga Amata and my wife went to Tafesilafa’i which her mum also used to manage. So there’s a deep connection there. The request for a proposal for a recruitment strategy was because our centres need support”
“Our Pacific centres across Aotearoa are struggling. So as former “alumni” of these centres and now as parents, my wife and I thought why not. Because if not us, then who? What’s the point of having all these skills and experiences if we’re not using when there is a need”
As the year wraps up for the majority of education centres in the country, Tumama believes that there is still more work needed to be done.
Both Tumama and Kalameli are hoping to do more work in championing those in Early Childhood Centres, especially pacific teachers and educators.
“Our key focus is sustainability. How do we keep this going should funding dry up or personnel change?
“For a long time, the survival of our Pacific centres depended on the efforts of individuals or small groups who went beyond themselves and beyond their means to keep our centres going. It shouldn’t have to be that way. So its about creating a sustainable model that also utilizes our whole community, beyond just ECE”
“You could never quantify just how valuable their contribution has been. One dinner celebration could never repay them for their service but it’s the first time something like this has been done”.
