Solomona Kelekolio signed up to come work overseas in a bid to better his family's lives back home in Samoa. Voices of the Pacific is a new five-part doco series following five people from a Pacific country who have applied to come to NZ under the Recognised Seasonal Employment scheme. Video / Pacific Cooperation Foundation
From a small village in Samoa comes a man with big dreams - not just for himself, but for his extended aiga and for his community.
Solomona Kelekolio speaks quietly about life in the islands; using his mother tongue to paint a picture of a humble home and an environment that makes it difficult to afford things needed for the family.
It was for that reason he approached his mother to express his want to sign up for the Recognised Seasonal Employment scheme, which would allow him to travel to New Zealand to work and provide for his family in the islands.
“She accepted my wish to be involved in this programme for an opportunity to work here for the betterment of my family.”
Kelekolio is one of the faces in a new documentary series featuring five people from Samoa, Vanuatu, Tonga, Fiji and Tuvalu who are part of the RSE scheme and earning money to send home.
Voices Of The Pacific has been launched by the Pacific Cooperation Foundation (PCF) in partnership with HortNZ and is about shining a light on the workers.
PCF executive director, David Vaeafe, said that for every person who travels to New Zealand to work under the RSE scheme, there is a family at the heart of their personal story - whether that was the Fijian worker in Hawke’s Bay looking to help rebuild his cyclone-ravaged village or another working hard to save towards a fale (house) back to the islands.
The RSE scheme has been running in New Zealand since 2007.
“We hear a lot in the media about RSE workers. But we don’t hear much directly from them. Voices Of The Pacific gives that platform,” he said.
It has been almost 16 years since the programme was founded, in April, 2007 - to allow the horticulture and viticulture industries in New Zealand to recruit people from Pacific countries for seasonal work.
‘Understanding their stories and why they do this’
When it started, five Pacific Island countries were involved. Initially, it was a relationship between Kiwi growers and the Pasifika nations themselves, not involving the New Zealand government.
Up to 5000 people from overseas could sign up - but that figure has grown over the years, because of the increased demand from Kiwi employers needing workers.
Today, people come from nine Pacific Island countries, including Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
They work at orchards and vineyards around the country, including Hawke’s Bay, Bay of Plenty and Marlborough.
A cap of 19,000 workers was allowed for the 2022-23 period.
“It’s really about understanding their stories and why they do this,” Vaeafe says of the series.
“We want Kiwis to understand what this connection means to Aotearoa and what it means to Pacific peoples and Pacific nations.
“We want to keep telling their stories. Because they’re a part of us - they’re a part of New Zealand.”
New Zealand’s RSE scheme had been so successful over the years, that Australia is now running a similar programme, based on the Kiwi model, and offering Pacific nations a choice as to where they can send workers.
Vaeafe acknowledged there had been shortcomings over the years, including the recent case of 28 RSE workers in Hawke’s Bay living in four-bedroom accommodation.
More work needs to be done on all levels, he said, to ensure workers have access to suitable working conditions and were treated fairly.
“Although we have come a long way since the RSE scheme began in 2007, we are saddened by the few providers who continue to fall short in meeting the basic needs for workers to work and thrive in Aotearoa.”
