{"id":9336,"date":"2024-02-22T05:12:46","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T16:12:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=9336"},"modified":"2024-02-22T05:12:46","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T16:12:46","slug":"pasifika-leaders-remember-stand-out-community-leader-faanana-efeso-collins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=9336","title":{"rendered":"Pasifika leaders remember ‘stand-out community leader’ Fa’an\u0101n\u0101 Efeso Collins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fa’an\u0101n\u0101 Efeso Collins is being remembered as a\u00a0pillar of the Pacific community<\/a>\u00a0with a “big heart of service”, who loved being a husband and father.<\/p>\n

The 49-year-old Samoan-Tokelauan leader and Greens MP has been described as someone who embodied the Samoan proverb: ‘o le ala i le pule o le tautua’ – the pathway to leadership is through service.<\/p>\n

Prominent leaders say Fa’an\u0101n\u0101 was “a strong community advocate”, known for serving disadvantaged communities.<\/p>\n

A beloved father, husband, brother and friend, Fa’an\u0101n\u0101 leaves behind a\u00a0strong legacy of service<\/a>\u00a0as someone whose mission was helping the poor.<\/p>\n

Health leader Sir Collin Tukuitonga said his death sent shock waves across the region, especially in the heart of South Auckland, where he grew up and had spent most of his time serving others.<\/p>\n

“Shocking is an understatement. He was on the same mission as the rest of us [Pacific leaders]. A good man. Good community values. It’s absolutely devastating for his family, for the Pasifika community, for NZ and beyond.<\/p>\n

“Efeso was a rare person. The Pasifika community is not well endowed with community leaders like Efeso – ethical, strong, community-minded.”<\/p>\n

\"Auckland<\/p>\n

Sir Collin Tukuitonga.\u00a0<\/span>Photo:\u00a0RYAN ANDERSON\/STUFF<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tukuitonga noted Fa’an\u0101n\u0101’s contribution to students when he became the first Polynesian president of the Auckland University Students’ Association in the late 1990s.<\/p>\n

“He did a lot at university for students, for local government. He was a stand-out community leader. A number of us were hopeful he would also have an impact at national Parliament, no doubt his legacy will live on in many of the things he had supported.”<\/p>\n

National candidate and longtime friend Fonoti Agnes Loheni said he was “a very special person”.<\/p>\n

“I am grateful for our friendship. His faith in God made him strong. He was a very fearless and fierce voice for the poor. He had a big heart of service. He was not only an advocate but also a man of action,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"National<\/p>\n

Fonoti Agnes Loheni.\u00a0<\/span>Photo:\u00a0VNP \/ Daniela Maoate-Cox<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Loheni acknowledged his family, wife and two girls, saying just last week they had connected during his induction into Parliament and he shared with her just how much he loved his family.<\/p>\n

“He was catching me up on his wife and his daughter. That was it for him, being a husband and a father were the main roles for him. The most important.”<\/p>\n

Former minister for Pacific peoples Aupito William Sio said the loss was being felt across the region.<\/p>\n

Tonga’s Princess also paid tribute online.<\/p>\n

“It was no mystery to any of us in the islands how loved he was by many of our Pasifika community in New Zealand.”<\/p>\n

rnz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fa’an\u0101n\u0101 Efeso Collins is being remembered as a\u00a0pillar of the Pacific community\u00a0with a “big heart of service”, who loved being a husband and father. The 49-year-old Samoan-Tokelauan leader and Greens MP has been described as someone who embodied the Samoan proverb: ‘o le ala i le pule o le tautua’ – the pathway to leadership […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":9337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[222,174],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-nz-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9336"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9338,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9336\/revisions\/9338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}