As part of 'Money Week' 2017, Ignite College in South Auckland partnered with the Commission for Financial Capability as part of a community collaboration with the hospitality students, to come up with a menu on a budget for occasions that Pacific island families often have to cater for.

Students not only learned about budgeting but were then able to incorporate the skills that they'd learned in their hospitality programme, combining the two and then the end result was putting on a meal for invited guests from the community and doing a full meal service.  The students came up with the menus, creating everything from the shopping to the budgeting to the cooking.  

Student Support Advisor Romana Fetu said that it's crucial for people to be aware of the importance of knowing about money and staying away from things like debts and loans and getting more into education to get into employment.…more

New York, London, Paris, Ōtara, Milan - High fashion lives here.

The Otara Town Centre was transformed to fashion central for the Pacific Fusion Fashion Showcase and created the perfect stage in the heart of South Auckland for emerging Pacific and Maori designers to showcase their fabulous designs.

Event Director Nora Swann said of the event "Some people found it hard to picture a sold-out high-end fashion event in Ōtara, let alone it being a runway down the middle of the Town Centre. We were always confident that we could do it and that we would find designers and an audience who would want to attend. We know the talent is out there and we hoped our community would support it. This just goes to show that yes, high fashion lives here".

Hosted by former Miss Samoa Latafale Auva'a, the showcase included entertainment from Ura Tabu/PIPA and Otara's own Giant Killa with other Groovehouse artists, Exit Four 44, Pascal Roggen and Aleisha Wallabh Smith.…more

Will Hafu 

Owns/Runs Hafu's House & Co Manager/Coach of the Sports Academy Tonga 

Kingdom of Tonga  

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I’m Kiwi born and bred out in West Auckland and both my parents are from Tonga. In the last two years I came back (to Tonga) for the 7’s, originally to help coach, but when I got here I played for a little bit too. 

I was coaching by myself at first, helping the local teams, then was approached by a New Zealand company (CSM) to start up the Tongan side of the academy, helping kids get scholarships into NZ teams. We work throughout the schools and take the elite kids and help with coaching etc.

We go and video the rugby games, pick the guys that we want and do highlights. We train them separately from the other kids and from there we try to get contracts and pair them up to other schools in New Zealand. It gives them a chance to better their education and to do rugby.…more

Rose Fangupo 

Fitness Trainer & Owner of 'Coffee Post' in Nuku'alofa 

Tonga

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Originally born and bred in South Auckland, my family (husband and kids) have been in Tonga for the last 8 years.  I’m a mother of five.  We came here for our 10th wedding anniversary and were supposed to only be here for a year but we’re still here 8 years on.  My Mum and Dad are also both from Tonga.  I'm from a family of 8 and am a middle child.  My family have been really supportive of me and my husband, without them we would not have made it this far.

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Running Fitness Training programmes in Tonga

I started doing training because it was something I loved and got paid to do.   

While I was having babies I was training. I’ve always been health conscious. My aunty who brought me up had breast cancer and my family has high obesity, diabetes and cancer.

When we came here, there was nothing running at the time. There were fitness classes, but there weren’t group classes and boot camps.…more

By Kristin McCarthy 

The land of Milk and Honey... And Debt.

As a Pacific person, or as any person I suppose, the first way I learnt to manage my money was from how my parents managed their money.  My parents migrated to NZ from Samoa in the mid 80’s and had rarely or never managed actual physical money before that so it's safe to say that they weren’t very good at it.  Any offer of immediate money aka cash loans they would take, not understanding the repercussions aka repayments and interest.

In the Islands wealth was displayed in offering food, mats and acts of service.  So being offered the idea of “free money” or a small plastic card that magically gave you money in NZ was what they thought people meant when they said come to “NZ, the land of milk and honey.”

I hear people say “Islanders are bad with money aye.”  We’re not bad at managing money, we just don’t really know how to and we have much wider family and community commitments than your average palagi.…more

Sarah Roopinia 

Founder of Ono'u Tahiti 

Tahitian/French

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I’m 28 years old and I was born on the island of Raiatea.  I grew up in Tahiti until I was 16, then I left to do my studies abroad, first in France where I studied political science and international relations.  I then did my Bachelors in the US at Berkeley, then I went back to Paris where I did my Masters in Economics and Project Management.  I worked as an Energy Consultant for a while, then as the EU Representative of French Polynesia, in Paris.

At the moment, I still work as a consultant in communications.  I have my own consultancy company and basically I work for a leading bank in French Polynesia where I handle their Communication Marketing, this is what I do for a living.

My passion is what we created four years ago with ONO’U , which is an international graffiti and street art festival that takes place every year in Tahiti, and now in other islands.…more

NFL legends & Polynesian Football Hall of Famers Jesse Sapolu, Matt Tanuvasa & Jack Thompson were in Auckland to check out the local talent and to introduce American football as an option to the Pacific Island & Polynesian kids in New Zealand.