Britany Newport

Britney Newport - Pasifika Early Learning

I was born in Wellington New Zealand but now reside in the city of sails, Auckland. My mother was born in Samoa and migrated to New Zealand with her parents in search for a chance of a better life, education and future. My Father is of Samoan and Chinese descent whose parents also too migrated to New Zealand in search for a better life also. So I come from a strong line of migrants who came to New Zealand to ensure that my siblings and I would have endless opportunities here in New Zealand. Education has always been an important element of my upbringing and we never took for granted the opportunity to have access to quality education. My parents were very clear in wanting us to assimilate into Aotearoa way of life through any opportunities we were given but always ensured that we were grounded in “who we are and where we come from” so culture and language was embedded into us growing up from a young age. Pasifika Early Learning was birthed from this idea of providing children at a young age learning opportunities through their culture and rich language. Which is where I currently work as a Director of Pasifika Early Learning and Operations Manager for our Auckland services. Working in this sector allows us to work with all our tamariki and ensure that we are able to provide them with a safe learning environment and ensure that they have every opportunity to connect with their ethnic heritage whilst preparing them for future endeavours. Our whanau in our centres are our community and this is how we serve by ensure we can partner and work hand in hand with parents, whanau and our wider community

What is your vision for Pacific Child Wellbeing?

My vision is that children have equal access to all things for them and there is no barriers preventing them from accessing it. All Pacific children are in safe environments which allows them to flourish and become confident individuals in themselves and who they are as Pasifika Children.