$1.5m from Provincial Growth Fund means ray of hope for Horowhenua Pasifika church communities

Pasifika church communities in the Horowhenua District have a sense of hope as they head towards 2021, thanks to almost $1.5 million in funding for renovations.

As for all New Zealanders, Covid-19 turned life upside down for the Pasifika congregations of three small churches in Levin. But the funding boost has provided a renewed sense of optimism for the church-goers.

The Samoan Methodist Church is one of three Pasifika churches in the town that banded together to apply for renovation funding through the government's Provincial Growth Fund.

The $1.5m was shared between it, the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa and the Free Church of Tonga.

For the Samoan Methodist Church, 2020 was supposed to be filled with celebrations to mark 30 years of fellowship.

When Covid-19 struck, instead of gathering to sing songs of worship, the community had to focus on trying to stay connected through lockdown and supporting each other through job losses and reduced incomes.

Levin's Samoan Methodist minister Asora Onesemo said the half a million dollars in funding his church had been awarded for renovations was more money than the 16 extended families in his congregation could ever hope to raise.

"This is quite a blessing for us. When this virus happened like everything goes down and we were so surprised that we get the blessings from God through the government as that is a great help for us," Onesemo said.

The church was built in 1993 and so there was a lot of work to be done on the bathrooms and kitchen facilities in the church hall, he said.

Proper heating and new carpeting would also be installed so people could be warm and dry.

Most importantly, the work would set the church and the community up for the future, Onesemo said.

"Everything is going to be renewed and it is going to be perfect for the next generation."

Free Church of Tonga member Lopeti Fifita Tovo said the news of the funding was overwhelming for the congregation.

"There were was a lot of tears, don't think people in my church believed me when I told them that we had sourced 1.4 million between the three churches," he said.

Twenty years ago, after being shuffled around from hall to hall for services, the church of about 65 people managed to buy a building, which in reality was little more than a tin shed, he said.

But the community had put a lot of love and care into painting, erecting a white picket fence and planting lovely flowers along its length.

But they never had enough money to do much about things like insulation, heating and the interior of the church, Tovo said.

"Sunday especially for Tongan people is a very special day so our older people and our young people like to dress up and wear their Sunday best and unfortunately when we got to our fale lotu generally what happens is everyone has to cover up with about three jackets and socks and stuff like that," Tovo said.

Alice Sooalo is the minister's daughter at the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa in Levin.

Her family moved to New Zealand from Samoa to look after the church more than 20 years ago.

She said the support meant a lot, especially this year.

"The loss of work, the loss of income, the loss of hope. We can use this blessing or this renovation funding as a celebration of, you know, it is not the end of the tunnel, this is a new beginning."

Horowhenua District Council governance and executive support team leader Sue Hori Te Pa helped the churches with their applications.

The fact that the churches supported each other and applied together was a reflection of how close-knit the Pasifika community in the district was, Hori Te Pa said.

It was great to be able to employ six to 10 members of the community who were either on a Work and Income benefit or in danger of going onto a benefit, she said.

"The workers are going to get the opportunity to work across all of the trades and learn new skills.

"So they will not only be working for the builder they will be working for the concrete layer, the carpet layer, the electrician you know picking up those trades and hopefully you know provided they have picked up the right skills and made a good impression you know there maybe employment opportunities for them post-project."

There was a great sense of pride among the church members selected to work on the project.

Work is scheduled to begin early next year with the Free Church of Tonga followed by the Samoan Methodist Church and then the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa.

The entire project is expected to be completed by September.

Funding for Pasifika churches nation-wide

The funding for the Horowhenua churches is part of $9.5m being given to 27 regional Pasifika churches.

The government estimated the renovation work would provide up to 400 jobs and opportunities for Pacific youth to gain work experience.

The money comes from the Provincial Growth Fund Covid-19 Response package.