Transcript
Kavei Koula 'e Fa or the four golden themes that Tongan families build their homes around was a strong component that needed to be considered when building what is now called Heilala Malu. The idea of love, respect for others, humility and maintaining good relationships are the foundational Tongan values. Auckland University of Technology graduate student 'Aulola Fuka-Lino led the project. Heilala Malu is not only a tool to inform the public, but for Ms Fuka-Lino it's a way to honour the families involved and their lost ones.
"I think its umm... [tears] sorry. It's celebrating the voices of those who have gone and honouring their story and their narratives that their families were actually able to share, so yes I was only a driver of that and I absolutely honour them."
An advisory group was also part of the research for Heilala Malu, going out on field to do the interviews. Youth advisor Edmund Fehoko hopes the new resource will get help to those at risk. Mr Fehoko says treating suicide as a taboo has to end..
"It's quite a sensitve and heated topic at the moment. This is one of many projects that a lot of people using our cultural, our indigenous knowledge to hopefully benefit and contribute and build a better community for our future."
Ms Fuka-Lino says being mindful of the culture, approaching the families and delivering the information needed had to be done with caution.
"I think staying true to the voices of the participants is very important. It's not just about writing about it. It's about ensuring that this is what they meant and this is what they actually said and this is how they felt and it's about staying true to their voice."
She says having the Tongan values instilled in her helped with interviewing Tongan families who had lost someone to suicide.
"I think one of the things with our Tongan community and I learnt it from a very young age from my nana is that pieces of papers, they do matter, but people do and so connecting to the right people and having people connect you to those families was key and also I think with families,they needed to feel that you weren't just there to collect data."
The New Zealand Ministry of Health chief advisor for Pacific Health Hilda Fa'asalele applauded the work to produce Heilala Malu. Mrs Fa'asalele says Pacific people have strong values and to maintain that in research on suicide and to use the resource to address suicide isn't an easy task.
"The fact that its Tongan, that its been done by people who are really strong in their Tongan culture and I think what it does is they've built on the knowledge and the strong values of the Tongan families and community and so that's what comes out very strongly and the fact that people trust them. That they would share what they think is really important. I think it's probably another key factor and the fact that its been developed with that in mind."
Having open and consistent communication within family was the prevention focus highlighted at the launch. Mrs Fa'asalele hopes other ethnic groups will now come forward.
"I think its key that it comes from the community, so whilst I would love to say 'hey we need a Samoan one or a Niuean one', I think it needs to be driven by the community so if they feel that its important for them to have then we would certainly support or look at what they would like to do."
TheHeilala Malu project, funded by the Health Research Council and the Ministry of Health, is in both English and Tongan.
