She will graduate from Waikato this week with First Class Honours and now works for Te Whatu Ora Health NZ in the National Pacific Health team, her big career goal to improve health, wellbeing and social outcomes for Pacific people. Georgia says her inspiration comes from her dad who grew up in insecure housing and was the first in their family to attend university.
“My main influence for my university studies was my dad. He really inspired me to follow this path and helped drive my commitment to making a difference for our Pacific community. A core memory of mine is watching him graduate,” says Georgia.
Georgia’s thesis for her Master of Social Science delivered insights into a pressing issue affecting many families in Kirikiriroa Hamilton as she spent time interviewing seven families struggling with overcrowded and inadequate housing. She worked alongside K’aute Pasifika Trust and Kirikiriroa Family Services Trust.
“Housing is such a fundamental aspect of your entire wellbeing and has so much to do with how you live your life. Every New Zealander has the right to a warm, safe and secure home but so many people in Aotearoa experience housing that lacks these aspects. If you don’t have a secure home, how do you hold down a job, get access to good health care, education all those fundamental services for life?” asks Georgia.
Her research revealed that Pacific families face disproportionate impacts to housing from systemic issues. She also compared housing conditions in New Zealand with those in the Pacific Islands, shedding light on how cultural and systemic factors contribute to overcrowding. “I looked at how Pacific people live in the islands, and how it could translate to New Zealand,” she says.
Pacific peoples in New Zealand have the highest overcrowding rates compared to the rest of the population in New Zealand, says Georgia.
“Pacific people don’t choose to live in overcrowded homes. Rather, they live in those spaces because there is a lack of large and affordable housing that is big enough for families and our housing is not designed to accommodate multigenerational living, which is how many Pacific would live in the islands,” says Georgia.
Part of Georgia’s research was also published in Mai Journal and her thesis has fed into wider research on housing insecurity.
Georgia received a TAPA award to help with her studies and has been heavily involved in supporting and tutoring other Pacific students at Waikato. She was also a Pacific Student Mentor. The University now also has a Palu Undergraduate Navigator programme helping other Pacific students navigate study, services and opportunities.
“I received great opportunities and support studying at Waikato, and I wanted to be able to give back, so tutoring and being able to support other students was an honour.”