During Auckland’s sudden COVID-19 lockdowns, SIAOLA partnered with the Auckland District Health Board and local Tongan churches to bring vaccination services directly to the community. Our support for Pacific Health providers, including The Fono and the Tongan Health Society, helped get over 14,800 people vaccinated.

Building on this success, SIAOLA launched a new initiative to promote long-term health within the Tongan church community. Instead of a single event, we created the Famili Mo’ui Lelei National Challenge, a six-week program encouraging healthy living across New Zealand.

The inaugural challenge saw incredible participation:

• 12 churches from four different cities took part.
• 300 people registered to improve their health.

The program was launched simultaneously in three cities, with participants from Hamilton joining the Auckland event and live streams connecting to Wellington, Gisborne, and other Auckland locations. We plan to make this a successful annual event, inspiring more churches to join in on the challenge of exercising, eating healthy, and walking.