Piri’anga Alofa Pacific and Community Services - making a positive impact on the life of others.

Whānau Manaaki social services support the families of children in our communities.  Trial and innovation have taken our association from a mainstream kindergarten provider to an integrated provider of whānau support. 

Piri'anga Alofa started out as Amataga o le Folauga - the beginning of the journey. Our team of community navigators supported families to engage with early childhood education as well as government and community funded services. Over the years our community services have grown to include a Pacific-led home based learning service, transport vans taking children to and from kindergarten and a jobs and skills hub in Cannons Creek Porirua.

In 2023, these services have come together under the new name Piri'anga Alofa - to represent a continually evolving service that introduces new initiatives to support and shape services for Pacific and the community.

Piri’anga is the Cook Island word for relationships and connections that have relevance.  These relationships or connections are multiple collectives within family, community and associations to Whānau Manaaki.  Piri’anga are connections that require the acknowledgement and support of others and sustained through practice.

Alofa in the languages of Samoan, Tokelauan and Tuvaluan encompasses a rich tapestry of meanings that go beyond the simple translation of ‘Love’. It embodies values like compassion, kindness, mercy, affections, hospitality, empathy and devotion. These multifaceted definitions interconnect and play integral roles in various piri’anga within family, community, the workplace and other collectives associated with our organisation.

As part of her series in the Listener 'Hardship and Hope' Rebecca Macfie wrote an in-depth article about our community work in Porirua East. Read the full story here. 

In the video below you can learn more about an integral community service run by Piri'anga Alofa.