A Pasifika healthcare and social service provider in Tauranga is calling on its community to take care of their health.

AvaNiu Pasifika's upcoming volleyball tournament – to be held during Breast Cancer Awareness Month – will promote preventative healthcare and screening for diseases such as bowel cancer, prostate cancer and hepatitis.

Free vaccinations for flu and Covid-19 will also be available at the tournament.

The S3 Tauranga volleyball tournament – reminding people in Tauranga to screen, screen, screen for preventative disease – will take place this Saturday, October 8, from 9am to 4.30pm at the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre.

Media are warmly invited to film the tournament and interview AvaNiu Pasifika early childhood education and whānau support service lead Sela Vakasiuola.

AvaNiu Pasifika managing director Sameli Tongalea says it's important people take care of their health and get checked before they get sick.

'I encourage our community to speak with a healthcare provider they trust and get their regular checks done. If our families can come together to participate and support events such as this, then that principle should apply to health checks – as we saw and experienced during the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, it was the wellbeing of the family that was the motivating factor for many families to get vaccinated,” explains Tongalea.

All volleyball team spots have been filled, but families are welcome to watch and participate in the healthcare screenings and education. Tongalea says the organisation is focussed on the health of their community.

Tongalea says AvaNiu Pasifika's motto is, 'Good health is collective health. We're only well when we're all well”.

Volleyball teams are encouraged to dress in pink to support the national Breast Cancer Awareness Month and enjoy the food market.

Teams could win a family getaway and spot prizes.

People who get vaccinated against Covid-19 or flu at the tournament will also go in Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand's Back to the Islands campaign's draw to win return tickets for two to fly to either Samoa or Tonga, plus travel vouchers.

The national campaign encourages Pasifika and Māori people to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and flu at Pacific pop-up vaccination events held until Sunday, October 16.

Te Whatu Ora Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty is supporting the event.

Its Senior Responsible Officer – Immunisation and Vaccination, Brent Gilbert-De Rios says Te Whatu Ora Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty is prioritising the normalisation and accessibility of vaccination by supporting community-based healthcare providers with broader healthcare initiatives.

'We support community-based healthcare providers in reaching their communities the ways they know work best, including courtside at a volleyball tournament.”

AvaNiu Pasifika is a Tauranga-based, Pasifika family-owned, family-operated business established in 2016.

The health, education and social service provider supports Pasifika families in the Western Bay of Plenty.

'For us, family is the most important thing. All of our team's families are involved with AvaNiu Pasifika, and we have strong links to our churches and community,” says Tongalea.