Winter Wellness campaign a community effort

Tangata Atumotu Winter Wellness campaign shown outside Eastgate mall, Christchurch

We know that winter is historically a tough time for our Ōtautahi Pacific community. Not only is it a season marked by a need for more support – it’s also a time where going out to get that support can seem inconvenient; higher demand can mean longer waiting lists, and the cold and wet can be an obstacle for our mātua, tāgata sāʻili mālō and tamaiti. 

In winter of 2024, we were determined to see that this wasn’t the case. Our focus was on practical, convenient, mobile support, and making it readily available. We launched a campaign across Hakatere Ashburton and Ōtautahi Christchurch that would lift spirits and rally our people to get the support they need.  

Dubbed the ‘Pasifika Health Heroes’ campaign, we wanted to showcase people truly involved in supporting local Pasifika, and how their stories connected to our convenient winter support services: not only immunisations, but also our Tamaiti Healthy Homes iniative and mobile nursing.  

It was important to us that we represent the diversity of our Pasifika people, and we drew on people with whakapapa to many islands, and involvement in many different sectors: from TV and film, to local government, clergy and sports teams.  

Across the months of July and August, the campaign was launched across billboards, street & dairy posters, radio, and social media.

We’re glad to say that winter resulted in almost 900 total referrals to our services, and we hope these led to ease and convenience throughout the colder months for our local whānau, ʻāiga and kaaiga.