Students launch Kafa Kollective, a new student mentoring programme at Massey Wellington

A new mentoring collective, the 'Kafa Kollective' is a Pasifika initiative with the aim to provide students at Massey Wellington a supportive space for their studies.

Mentor and current student Sophia Coghini said that Covid-19 was one of the reasons the collective came about. 

“A lot of Pasifika students dropped out due to Covid, because of things going on at home and for other family reasons.” 

The collective saw a strong increase in attendance over their first weeks of operating. 

“In the first week, around three people showed up, we are now in our third week and around 14 people have shown up,” Coghini said.

“‘Kafa Kollective’, comes from the Tongan word ‘Afa’. Afa, is one of the strongest ropes, a sonnet braid of coconut husks. It is used for tying Faleo’o (houses) together with a strong hold,” Coghini also explained.

The mentors were selected by Herbert Bartley, the Associate Dean and the Creative Director Pacific, with the aim for them to help mentor other Pasifika students on campus. 

He selected multiple different students from different degrees to participate in the collective, offering students a wide-range of options for mentoring and support. 

This includes students from Fine Arts, The School of Music, Creative Media Production and Fashion and Design. 

Students can find the collective in the Fale located at T33; mentors are there most days of the week working with students and hanging out together. 

All students are welcome in the Fale and are encouraged to come and say hello even if they don’t need support.