Vaka Tautua Wellington makes a big move

The Vaka Tautua Wellington team has celebrated a significant milestone in their journey with a relocation to new office premises in the heart of Porirua City at the start of November.

Now at 9 Lydney Place, the team conducted a successful moving day, topping it off with a fun and low-key opening event two weeks later to greet the local community.

Staff set up a free sausage sizzle outside the office on a sunny day and took the opportunity to interact with their new neighbours, people passing by, and service users.

Anna Pasikale, who has been Regional Manager Wellington since June 2021, said of the event, “We had a wonderful time engaging with our guests and showing off our new premises.”

Other service providers dropped by to enjoy the festivities, as did local MP Barbara Edmonds who posted on Facebook, “Vaka Tautua have moved! Anna and the team are now at 9 Lydney Place and are settling in nicely, enjoying their more central location in Porirua. We wish them all the best in their new digs. Thanks for the sausage sizzle too.”

Porirua has one of the largest and fastest growing Pacific populations in Aotearoa, second only to South Auckland, so a more central location will enable the team to provide better service to the local community.

Vaka Tautua launched its services in the greater Wellington region in September 2008, more than 14 years ago. That first Porirua office was officially opened by Hon Luamanuvao Dame Winnie Laban and, while there have been changes to the staff over the years, they have been faithfully serving Pacific families in the region ever since, offering mental health, disability and financial capability services.