Luther Toloa Awarded A Queen’s Service Medal For Services To The Pacific Community

Luther Toloa’s many decades of work with the Wairarapa Pasifika community has been acknowledged today with a Queen’s Service Medal for services to the Pacific community, says Pasifika o Wairarapa Trust Chair James Beer.

Founder of the Pasifika o Wairarapa Trust, Luther was one of 187 New Zealanders to receive a Queen’s Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours, announced this morning,

Luther has worked in the Wairarapa Pasifika community for decades but it was during the 2019 Covid response and subsequent lockdowns that Luther set up the Trust to address the social disparities and lack of social service support available for Pasifika families living and working in the Wairarapa.

He initially identified an urgent need within the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers who were impacted with the sudden loss of income, accommodation and border closures due to the 2019 Level 4 Lockdown. Most of these workers are from Pasifika countries and the border closures prevented them from returning home.

Luther coordinated a small group from the Pasifika community to assist supporting the RSE workers which has now expanded to other Pasifika families in need. This work involved coordinating food parcels, resources, and avenues of familial and cultural community support.

Through this work Luther identified the need to establish a dedicated Pasifika support network and the Pasifika o Wairarapa Trust was established to provide ongoing support to those marginalised families and migrant workers and strengthen the bonds between the settled Pasifika families and those new, immigrating and temporary workers.

During this current Covid restrictions, Luther has ensured that support has been provided to 165 Pasifika community members including 58 food parcels, firewood, petrol vouchers and access to advice and support on immigration, health, education, and employment matters.

He also facilitated a number of Pasifika fono to assist the District Health Board with communicating and addressing misinformation about Covid and alleviating vaccination fears. He ensured that nationally recognised Pasifika community and health leaders visited the Wairarapa and talked directly to the community. This facilitation of face-to-face engagement with the Pasifika community has been instrumental in assisting with the regions high Pasifika vaccination rates.

During this time, he led the operations of the group while the Trust and the Board was formally established in 2021. During this time Luther worked in a voluntary capacity and as well as working with the community, he also drafted and submitted the strategic plans, policies and sought the funding required to operationalise the support services.

Not only does the Trust provide family support, it is also mandated to provide support for immigration, health, education, employment, legal, and Visa issues for migrant workers and their families.

Luther served as the interim Chair while coordinating the assistance of a diverse range of people to serve as Board trustees. Now that the Trust has been established, the Trustees asked Luther to take on the General Manager role to drive the formal establishment of the social support services.

His determination and drive has established collaborative partnerships with Government and non-government organisations that will have enduring consequences for the health and wellbeing of our Pasifika communities.

Luther is an exceptionally humble man who does not seek to enhance his own mana but rather empower and enable the Pasifika communities he serves to breakdown the social disparities our communities face and thrive as part of the wider Wairarapa community.

His tenacity have ensured that the Pasifika community now have social support services that will enhance the holistic well-being of Pasifika peoples living or working in the Wairarapa.

His determination has been single handed, and it gives the Board and myself, great pleasure to thank Luther for his exceptional dedication to the Wairarapa Pasifika community and congratulate him on being awarded a QSM.

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