And South Auckland is the country's ground zero, where 23,000 calls come in yearly for family violence.

The area also has a large Maori and Pacific Islander population, but New Zealand's police force is mostly white.

Encounters between residents and officers summoned to respond to family disputes have often ended with arrests made and children funnelled into emergency state care, where a bewildering bureaucracy of government agencies and community organizations await.

Families regularly fall through cracks between services that compete for funding.

Often, when help comes, it arrives too late, or doesn't reflect the culture of perpetrators and victims.

"By the time you blink, you've got children living in a virtual war zone, and it's been a year down the track with five or six more incidents," said Jonelle McNeil, an operations manager for Barnardos, a New Zealand nonprofit that deals with children and their families impacted by family violence.

Maori are twice as likely to be victims of intimate partner violence compared to all New Zealanders.

Alcohol, poverty and other factors play a role in that.

It is a reflection of the generational trauma facing families whose parents or grandparents moved away from tight-knit, tribal communities to the largely unfulfilled promise of urban jobs.

This is layered over the impact of European colonization that began in the 1800s. (According to scholars who've studied the roots of the issue, violence toward a female partner was unacceptable in Maori society before European settlers enforced a gendered belief system.)

But a new Maori-led response to family violence in South Auckland is showing early signs of success in addressing the problem. Te Taanga Manawa — a Maori term meaning a place of rest and safety — was launched in March, bringing together 13 government, Maori and community agencies, including local police, in a single building.

The multi-agency team ensures a collaborative response that is quicker and more culturally nuanced.

As advocates for law enforcement reform in the U.S. wrestle with racial bias in police violence and seek more effective alternatives to traditional policing, New Zealand's experiment bears watching as a model for how police work and social work can be threaded together.

"It works well because there are no barriers, no bricks and mortar to separate the opportunity to deal with whanau [families] quickly and directly," said Dee-Ann Wolferstan. She is the chief executive officer of Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri Trust, a social justice arm of the Anglican Church, and Te Iwi o Ngati Kahu Trust, the support service of a Maori tribe.

Both organizations are involved in Te Taanga Manawa.

Te Whare began experimenting with a multiple-agency approach to family violence in 2018 by joining with Barnardos and Fonua Ola, a nonprofit organization that serves Pacific Islander families.

The organizations shared information, brainstormed together, and presented one cohesive strategy to each family.

That meant families had just one point of contact, said Wolferstan, "instead of a million."

Within 12 months, more than 90% of families referred to the initiative agreed to participate in programs like parenting classes, a jump from 20%.

In South Auckland, local police still respond to the initial incident. But instead of looking at the incident through just a law-and-order lens — make arrests or remove the perpetrator — they seek the root causes of family violence.

"Is this a food issue?" said Wilkie.

"Are there drug and alcohol issues? Have people lost their jobs? Do the children look malnourished?" Continue reading

Two months ago President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau conferred the Order of Fiji on Lee-Wah in recognition of her distinguished service of a high degree to humanity at large in the country.

Parish assistant priest Father Francis Kolatt said the party was organised to show their appreciation to Mrs Lee-Wah for her achievement.

Originally of Labasa, Mrs Lee Wah is known not only in her hometown but in most areas in the North where she has contributed an act of kindness and love to.

For more than 20 years, Selina has been involved with community work.

Not only does she look after the disadvantaged members of society, she also helps civil societies and churches keep a clean financial record.

As a bank officer of the Australia New Zealand bank for 35 years since 1968, when it was the Bank of New Zealand, Mrs Lee-Wah used her experience to balance financial accounts of various groups.

She does not charge fees for her work but believes it is part of her community work.

Source

• Fiji Times
• Fiji Times
• Image: Fiji Times

Lagman called the reception of these gifts "morally offensive."

"The Catholic Church is way too rich to be a charity case and has more than sufficient resources to finance its charitable work without competing with countless indigent patients and legitimate charity beneficiaries," the minority lawmaker said.

PCSO Chair Margarita Juico had claimed former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo gave 6 or 7 Mitsubishi Pajeros to bishops before she stepped down from office to get their support.

Retired Archbishop Oscar Curz confirmed that some Filipino Catholic bishops received monetary aid and luxury vehicles from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office during the Arroyo administration. However, he would not confirm that they were bribes for their political support.

Cotaboto Archbishop, Oriando Quevedo said lots of Catholic agencies have asked for aid from the state-owned lottery agency for their social projects and that it's been a long-standing practice, back to the time of President Aquino.

ABS-CBN News reports Quevedo as saying the PCSO donations are intended for social services, poverty alleviation and socio-economic development.

Meanwhile the Catholic bishops of the Philippines have agreed they will discuss the matter during their meeting in Manila this week.

Sources

• ABS-CBN News
• ABS-CBN News
• GMA News
• Sun Star
• Image: egm Cartech