Transcript
Politicians, pastors and a famous boxer are among the more than 1000 people registered for this weekend's 'talanoa' around the issues facing Pacific men.
Community worker Fa'alogo Talosaga Va'ai is one of the organisers.
Fa'alogo was inspired to get involved after discussing a statistic with the gathering's mastermind, Tofilau Kerupi Tavita.
"One out of every three women including girls are either abused or violated. I'm a grandfather and I've got four grandchildren. Three of them are girls. If we put that statistic together, that means one of my three girls is going to be abused or violated and to me, that is not going to happen. The dream is; we've got to change it, and in order to change it Pacific men need to sit down and talk about the issue."
One of those who will be talking is former boxing great To'aletai David Tua.
"I believe me sharing some of the challenges that I went through could be of benefit to some of our men that could be going through the same thing, that was depression, suicide and mental health."
David Tua will host the workshop 'Getting Yourself up After Being Knocked Out'.
"I don't have the answers but for me it's about sharing honestly and openly about what I went through, and hopefully that can inspire them to talk openly about some of the challenges that they could be going through."
Another sharing his experiences is USO Bike Ride's Chris Te'o who also works with the Cancer Society and the Healthy Futures Trust.
"For Pacific people unfortunately our outcomes for cancer are not that great. If we're diagnosed with cancer we're actually two or three times more likely to actually die from it and unfortunately for my father that was exactly the case that happened. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and he passed away three weeks later so it happened very quickly and unfortunately that's the story for a lot of our people."
Mr Te'o's wife also died after a relapse of cancer for which early detection is vital.
"We're not accessing primary care. We're actually going to secondary care and we just really need to empower ourselves to access that care that can make a difference in our lives. I think, you know, we put so much emphasis on our families that we ignore looking after ourselves as individuals."
Mr Te'o says like health, family violence is an issue that needs to be brought out in the open and talked about.
Fa'alogo Talosaga Va'ai says while Pacific women have been meeting for years to talk about issues that affect them, this is the first time for the men.
"One of the reasons why I jumped on board is simply, we need to do something, here's an opportunity. Get as many men that we can, Pacific men or anyone else that wants to be involved, talk about the issues, identify the issues themselves, and then find the solutions. But the more more important thing is not just the event, it's what comes after."
Fa'alogo says a pledge for change will close the 'Gathering of the 3000' which runs this Friday and Saturday at Porirua's Te Rauparaha Arena.
