Since 2006 – Laulõtaha mentoring is an innovative educational project that supports Pasifika students to thrive and be successful. It is a unique and innovative one-to-one mentoring programme delivered by mentors to students within a family, cultural and church context. Laulotaha mentoring is geared for Year 1 to Year 13 school students who are looking for that extra support to achieve academically and are mentored to find the right fit for their career pathway. The programme is FREE and we have 16 sites.

Established in 2007 in Wellington, The Laulotaha Mentoring programme was founded by Valeti Finau, a Pasefika Education Specialist. Valeti has a Masters in Education from Victoria University, Wellington and has received a New Zealand Order of Merit for the Programme. Advisors to the Programme include Victoria University Professor Emeritus of Innovations in Education in NZ and Dai Gilbertson and Deb Gilbertson Director of Te Kaihau Ltd, an Innovation consultancy company.

In 2012 the Laulotaha Mentoring Programme was established in Auckland with Northcote College and witnessed by Hon Hekia Parata, the Minister of Education and Minister of Pacific Islands Affairs at the time. The e Auckland branch has been supported by Lifewise Trust and Airedale Property Trust of the Methodist Church of New Zealand.

During the global Covid 19 pandemic in 2020, lockdowns and uncertainties did not prevent Laulotaha Mentoring from growing. We established 5 Laulotaha centres in Auckland – Wesley College, Aorere College at Papatoetoe (South Auckland), Sandringham (Central Auckland), Rutherford College at Te Atatu Peninsula (West Auckland), and Northcote College (North Shore), and 3 outside of Auckland – Hamilton, Wellington, and Oamaru in the South Island.

The Programme is also available online for the students and their parents.