6:00 am today

Zumba with a 'Pasifika twist' helps ward off loneliness and diabetes

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Zumba in Māngere, Auckland.

Zumba in Māngere, Auckland. Photo: Marika Khabazi / RNZ

From Monday to Friday at noon, around a hundred Pasifika people gather in the middle of South Auckland's Mangere town centre, dressed in colourful hats and alo'a shirts for an hour-long dance class.

The free Zumba classes started in 2013 as part of a plan to get people moving in their older age and keep diabetes at bay and they're still going strong.

RNZ reporter Amy Williams has the story.