About Us
Our History
The first Women’s Refuge was established in 1973 in Christchurch by a group of women who saw a need to provide safety for many of the women and children they saw being abused in their community. From their courage and determination, the refuge movement in Aotearoa was born and in 1987 Eastern Refuge Society was established in Counties Manukau East.
Vision, mission, values
Eastern Refuge Society is a member of the National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges and as such adheres to and abides by their code of ethics, behaviour, standards of practice and associated policies regarding practice, performance and monitoring.
Vision:
Wahine and tane working together to cultivate violence free families, communities and society, by enhancing the mana of all peoples and upholding our commitment to Te Tiriti O Waitangi.
Mission:
To provide inclusive services that support the wellbeing of all people through professional best practice, encompassing our four cornerstones and underpinned by our philosophy of social change.
Cornerstones:
- Parallel development: Ensuring the needs of Māori are met in ways that best suit Māori
- Collectivism: To ensure consensus decision-making, and in recognition that the actions of one refuge reflects on the refuge movement as a whole
- Feminism: Celebrating women’s contribution to society
- Takatāpui Nurturing Diversity: Providing safe, inclusive spaces for diverse whanau
Our Leaders
Annie Tupaea
Finance Manager
Genevieve Sang-Yum
Practice Leader
Samoan proverb: E fofō e le alamea le alamea – The solution lies within our communities.
My passion for working with people is influenced by my parents. I am of Samoan/Chinese descent and bilingual speaking and writing fluent Samoan and English. I was bestowed the chief title (orator) of Alofimua from my maternal grandmother’s family in 2020. My role as an orator chief carries responsibility that reflect on who I am and my purpose to the community.
I joined Eastern Women’s Refuge (EWR) in 2017 as a social worker. At the time, I was a brand-new social worker after a year of experience through a previous organisation. In 2020, I became the manager for the Community and Programmes portfolio. Presently, I am the Practice Leader for EWR.
My practice continues within the Refuge movement as the Core Group representative for Tauiwi in Te Tai Tokerau, National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges. My values and beliefs strongly reflect the objectives of the four cornerstones within the movement – Parallel Development, Collectivisim, Feminism and Takatāpui Nurturing Diversity. I am also a member of the Pacific Island caucus which is part of the Tauiwi caucus. Through this, I connect with the values and beliefs of Love, Integrity, Partnership, Humility, Duty of care, Culture, Identity and Diversity.
I continue to pursue my passion in eliminating and educating in family violence by research about gender-based family violence in the Samoan culture through the perspective of religious teachings.
Katrina Makea
Residential Support Manager
Katrina comes from the Early Childhood sector where she worked for 15 years at Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Taurere as a Kaiāwhina (Teacher Aide) and a Kaiako (Teacher). Whilst at Kōhanga Reo she completed certificates in Te Ara Tuatahi and Te Ara Tuarua.
In 2010 she joined Eastern Women’s Refuge to manage the Kowhai Daycare. In her current role as the Residential Manager she supports and advocates for the women and children staying in the Safe House. She also facilitates the parenting programmes: Building Awesome Whanau and Early Years.
Katrina has completed a Certificate in Bi-Cultural Social Services and is currently studying to obtain her Bachelors in Bi-Cultural Social Work at Te Wananga o Aotearoa. She is of Cook Islands, Tahitian, Hawaiian, German and English descent and a proud mother of four children and two grandchildren.
Jenny Palalagi-Taulagaono
Service Manager – Te Whare o Honore
Jenny completed her Bachelor of Applied Social Work at the end of 2014 and by January 2015 was already working as a Whanau Coordinator for the Anglican Trust for Women & Children (ATWC). Since then she has had a steady career as a Social Worker for different organisations, which has included mentoring young people at risk of disengaging from learning in the school environment and advocating for teen mothers whose social and health needs were not being addressed.
Jenny is a New Zealand born Niuean and proud mother of five children and two mokopunas.
Agnes Paul
Kaiawhina Practice Leader – Whāngaia Ngā Pa Harakeke
Agnes comes from the NGO sector in the Maori Service Community where she acquired experience working alongside Maori Whanau and other ethnicities experiencing Domestic Violence. Prior to joining Eastern Refuge she worked for Te Tai Awa O Te Ora, in Otara for 9 years.
In 2013 she completed Te Tohu Paetahi Nga Poutoko Whakarara Oranga: Bachelor of Social Work (Bi -Culturalism in Practice). In 2015 she completed a Graduate Diploma in Professional Supervision (Bi-Culturalism).
In her current role at Eastern Refuge she works alongside the Manukau Counties Police leading a team of Kaiawhinas, supporting whanau experiencing domestic violence.
Agnes is also an experienced programmes facilitator.
Agnes is of Maori Ngaphui descent.
Ana Atkinson
Programmes and Administration Manager
Ana comes from a legal background. Prior to migrating to New Zealand from Mexico, she was a lobbyist for Grupo Modelo (Corona Beer). In New Zealand, she has worked in various industries including government agencies as well as recruitment. In the UK, Ana worked as an advocate for people with mental health issues and with a team of professionals from the University of Bristol doing research on perpetrators of domestic violence.
Ana completed a Masters in International Relations and Human Rights (with Honours) at the University of Auckland and is proficient in four languages (Spanish, French, English and Italian). She has also lived in the US, Italy and England and is the proud mother of one boy.