Fluent Volunteers in Samoa Language Join St John Caring Caller Programme

Photo: Supplied

Emotional support is now just a friendly “Talofa” away for the Samoan community in Aotearoa New Zealand.  

Hato Hone St John has announced the introduction of Samoan language to their popular Community Health programme: Caring Caller, with new volunteer callers fluent in Samoan joining the team.  

The St John Caring Caller programme is a volunteer-based telephone friendship service that offers companionship to those in need. This free service facilitates meaningful, regular connections that strengthen social bonds and enhance mental and emotional wellbeing. Clients who engage with a Caring Caller benefit from having someone to talk to, fostering resilience against the effects of loneliness and social isolation.

Eleni Mason, Hato Hone St John Community Engagement Manager, sees Caring Caller as an essential service to the Samoan community and the wider Pacific communities in general, saying “many of our elderly community members are left alone at home while their family members go to work or to school. Some may have recently moved from Samoa to New Zealand and are having to adapt to new social norms. This sustained experience of loneliness can have detrimental effects on their health and overall well-being.”

“I am committed to promoting the inclusion of Pacific people in this Hato Hone St John programme and we are actively looking for both clients and callers from within the Samoan community to reach out,” says Eleni.

For more information or to begin your sign-up process, you can call 0800 4 CALLER (0800 422 5537) or visit the Hato Hone St John website.



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