Chirag Sawaria and Apisai Togia Photo: Justine Murray
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Supporting their families back home in Samoa is the main drive of a group of ten young men who have jumped at the chance to work at Ngai Tukairangi Orchard Trust, a multi-million dollar Maori owned Kiwifruit orchards in Tauranga.
Orchard Manager Andrew Wood will oversee the winter pruning and as the weather warms up the summer pruning and fruit thinning. He recognises the importance of providing work for RSE from the Pacific islands.
‘We’ve got a policy where we try to employ from a village and work with just a village rather than individuals so we can see the village is gaining some good out of it...the first pay that one group had last year they sent it home and they brought weed eaters for the village” he says.
Fu'a Salistina Fisher and pēpi Photo: Justine Murray
Fu’a Salistina Fisher is from Satapuala in Samoa and helps with pastoral care of the RSE workers, she lives in Matapihi and is married to local leader Anthony Fisher, the RSE programme is a way to connect with her family.
“Most of the boys here, they have arrived from my village are my relatives, its an honour...to have this opportunity...to have Ngai Tukairangi open it up to our island people, I’m over the moon”
