OFC HOST TAHITIAN CHARITY GROUP

AUCKLAND – A group of young Tahitians who have only ever known life inside a hospice are this week enjoying a trip to New Zealand thanks to charitable organisation Tokani Nui and support from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC).

The group of 20, who travelled from Tahiti on Friday 13 March, are using the OFC Academy in Penrose as a base from which to make visits to the Auckland Zoo and Rainbow’s End as well as a short excursion to Rotorua.

Named after a mountain in Tahiti, Tokani Nui was established by a group of Tahitian nurses in 2003 to provide people with mental illness the opportunity to travel to new places and experience life outside their normal environment.

President Cecile Temata Faarere says this is the fourth trip Tokani Nui has organised and the first one outside of French Polynesia.

“Each time we take a different group of people on what is essentially an important journey of self-discovery,” she says. “These individuals would never usually see the outside world but through Tokani Nui and the help of the community they can have that chance.”

For this week’s trip, several nurses are on hand to supervise the group of nine as well as Dr. Letang Rolland who says most of the young adults have Schizophrenia.

“Each individual’s mental illness plays out in a different way but all of them need close support,” says Dr. Rolland.

“In Tahiti they either live in a hospice or foster care so they constantly follow the same routine every day. That is why a trip like this is so important because they have the freedom to explore and express themselves. It can be a scary thing at first but we see them grow in confidence as they learn to adapt to new environments.”

Tai Nicholas, OFC General Secretary, says the OFC is pleased to provide hospitality for the Tahitian delegation during their week-long tour.

“Tokani Nui’s aims are in line with OFC’s strong commitment to social development within the Pacific region so we were eager to offer them support.”

Touring nurse Ginette Tanerii says Tokani Nui relies on the generosity of the community to survive.

“Before we came on this trip we put in a lot of hard work baking food, selling lottery tickets and organising a fundraising ball to raise money,” she says. “We are grateful to have been shown tremendous generosity by individuals within the community as well as organisations such as the OFC.”

The group depart for Papeete on Friday 20 March.  

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