“In order to know where you are going, you need to know where you’ve come from“

On Friday 25 February I attended a Pasifika well-being workshop along with all Pasifika students at Marlborough Girls' College. Throughout the day the workshop included two sessions.

Session One: We acknowledged the Pasifika values across all Pacific islands. They demonstrated a deeper understanding of our three school Values through group discussions and games. 

In my group, we discussed how we show our pasifika values and the school values at the same time. We referred back to the theme of our workshop, “In order to know where you are going, you need to know where you’ve come from.” We realized that In order to walk and talk about the school's values we must walk and act on our home values first.

In this session I really enjoyed hearing each other's input, which inspired me to feel more connected to my roots because we all felt connected to the same stories and lived up to the same purpose.

Session Two: Well-being from a Pasifika Lens. In the beginning we were introduced by well-being models, Fonofale, Te Whare tapa wha and a new Tongan model. In this session we navigated ways to help enhance our well-being in different practices. 

For example Matua John ran a mental health practice. Māori meditation which he suggests that we do 15 minutes a day to help calm our minds after a busy day. I thought this was a marvelous way of clearing our mind from all the chaos that is happening around us, which is why today I continue to take this into consideration.

By Mele Moli - Year 13