Mafutaga is a Samoan word that describes a fellowship or get together. For us, it describes our mentoring programme where we bring together young people and adults to talanoa. We believe the talanoa allows for a safe and supportive environment that results in young people being able to fellowship with others who will help consider other perspectives and to grow.

Due to COVID-19, we moved from face to face engagement to digital. Using Facebook Messenger and Zoom we have been able to carry on without skipping a beat. A recent session saw young people discussing the implications of COVID-19 on careers and business opportunities. One mentor shared her journey as a professional sports person and how she is able to return to her previous career if needed. Her advice of always giving yourself options in terms of careers really made us explore how we are setting ourselves up.

In future newsletters we'll share a bit more about our mentors and mentees - we've got some future leaders in this group and we are so proud