Never say No...dare to take risks!

Keneti Apa & Tofilau Punipuao Malelega at our Vision Night - presenting our strategic plan to the community

A thought crossed my mind about what people have said to me about the drive behind our project - our centre manager Malelega. "She never says No"...she will never turn something down or someone away and will always offer help if people ask. I laugh because I know exactly what they are referring too. People ask for help and usually you would offer your hand but not this woman, she offers her arm and some. Although this is true about Malelega, which can be a strain on the people around her, and I say this because we see how much she gives of herself, and because shes known to say Yes most of the time, we see through our human eyes that she is being taken advantage of. However to be fair, most of us are probably too tired, too busy or too scared to say Yes to some of the things she gives herself to. However if we were to view things through our caring eyes, what is evident about Malelega is "she is a blessed woman". And she knows it. So because of that, she often says if someone comes to me for help and I know I can help them, I will. Ive often asked her "but what if you cant help?" She laughs and says "theres always a way...you can help them".
What we have seen is God's favour and blessing on Malelega in more ways than one (another novel). He knows how much she genuinely cares for people and so he takes care of her. He obviously knows shes a great distributor! What Ive learnt from her, is her DARING POSITIVE ATTITUDE - shes a risk taker! She takes risks and sometimes those risks fall on the way, but most times something comes out of it...a way through. She often says you wont know unless you say Yes and do it! Who else is going to do it for you..you need to do it first...onosa'i she would say, God always finds a way. So there are 2 lessons Ive learnt from her throughout this project (and life itself): Never say No and be a risk taker!

Front View of centre..facing east

Front view

Entrance...

Side of under 2 area..

Framing Up

View from start of path - the building sits in the middle of the reserve

Foundation Laid

Ready for concrete pour.

Blessing of Land part 2.

Back at Puna O le Atamai for lunch with supporters.


Presenting koha to our Kaumatua and pastors.

Kaumatua Jim Rauwhero and Jack Massam led the procession to the entrance of the building.

Blessing of Land - Tues 23rd February 2010

As mentioned earlier our journey started 4 years ago, part of that journey involved gaining council land. Several meetings with council and final approval by the Mangere Community Board - a milestone at that. We successfully signed a lease with Manukau City Council for 10 years.
As part of our Samoan culture anything new that was going to be laid, built or started required a blessing of the land which was conducted by Rev Kafarelli Sasagi, Pastor Steve McRobie and Kaumatua's Jim Rauwhero and Jack Massam.

Part of my mission as project manager (and teacher background) was to implement our Te Tiriti o Waitangi committment passed on to me through the passion of my former lecturer Elaine Derbyshire. Establishing our partnerships and consultation process involved our local Maori people - our tangata whenua is vital to our existence. So through several phone calls and meetings, the Mangere Maori Wardens Association and Rev Jim Rauwhero guided us through the protocols and blessing at Cleek Rd, Mangere.

"Oh Happy Day", tuesday was signifcant for our children, parents, staff, reps from different organisations and our community. Our dream had become a reality. Our children had drawn pictures and names of all the people involved in the journey which was put into a time capsule buried at the entrance. As Malelega lay the capsule Pastor Steve poured red wine over it as a symbol of cleansing and foundation for future generations to come. Our children sang "Come and go with me to my Fathers House". The ceremony ended in prayer by Rev Sasagi and words of encouragement by Kaumatua Jim Rauwhero and Jack Massam.

We are firm believers that if you do things the right way, the future opens doors to possibilities and blessings for generations to come.

Building Project - Beginning

Laying of time capsule at Blessing Ceremony - Tofilau Malelega, Sarah & Steve McRobie, Tiana

Four years ago our centre manager embarked on a journey of building a new purpose built preschool due to our increasing roll numbers, space issues and feedback from the community of bringing their children to Puna o le Atamai. Our current centre, an old classroom prefab stuck together with toilets and kitchen that adjoined another prefab catered for 28 children maximum. Despite numerous hours of talks with Ministry of Education, the verdict suggested we couldnt extend or increase our capacity. With that information at hand (which quickly became yesterdays news) Malelega set out to seek how she could achieve this dream. So equipped with oratory skills and passion, Malelega started several meetings with our parents and families which led to futher meetings with community groups, agencies and anyone that had an ear to listen to her desired dream of building another preschool. Her involvement and status in our Samoan community gave her a platform to work from. With that in tact and drive to get things done, our preschool journey began. Over the years we stumbled across several fundraising ideas that were successful (some not successful). We had a dedicated team of staff, parents and families that believed on every word Malelega pronounced wherever she went "we are going to build a new preschool for our children and those waiting to come, we are going to get land to do it". Often those unseen volunteer hours of fundraising, door knocking, talking, community surveys and networking started to take its toll however the core dedicated group of Malelega supporters persevered. We enlisted the help of Edupac Ltd which became the vital ingredient "the bridge" that gave us the platform to cast our dreams deeper and wider. Three years later, our line was caught, our dream was given a lifeline and hence a capital grant from the Ministry of Education of $1.137 million was granted in August 2009.

This marks a major milestone for Puna o le Atamai. This will be the 2nd centre we open under the Fountain of Knowledge Trust. The vision would not have been successful without a core group of people involved throughout the years. The board for their dedication and leadership. The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs and their PPDF funding which has provided significant training through the leadership of Keneti Apa - Edupac Ltd. The support of our local community groups, Mangere Community Board, Manukau City Council. Tracy Massam - Ministry of Education rep and her committment,Tessa Apa - Signature Homes and numerous volunteers that provided their time, aroha and timely smiles. Last but not least the staunch core of family members that pursued the vision of their mentor, mother and leader to be successful in everything you do - No is not a word in her vocab.