OUR TEAM
Eli Tulafono
Operations and Program Manager
About Me
With over three decades of experience in the service industry—spanning the Child Protection sector and now the Family Harm space—I have dedicated my life’s work to restoring whanau wellbeing by empowering fathers to heal, grow, and lead with integrity. My personal journey, marked by both hardship and transformation, has shaped a deep commitment to mentoring men who seek to break cycles of harm and rediscover their purpose as protectors, partners, and parents.
Leadership Through Lived Experience
Over the years, I have had the privilege of working alongside diverse communities, frontline practitioners, and whanau navigating complex challenges. Today, I lead a team of remarkable men—many of whom are graduates of our intervention programmes—each committed to walking alongside others on their own pathways to restoration. Together, we foster accountability, healing, and cultural reconnection.
Our approach is grounded in Tuakana-Teina values: a relational leadership model that honours the wisdom of lived experience while nurturing the growth of future leaders. Through our Train-the-Trainer strategy, we not only build capacity within our teams but also ensure the sustainability, authenticity, and scalability of our kaupapa.
Let’s Work Together
Whether you're a professional seeking to collaborate, a father ready to embark on a journey of self-discovery, or a community leader looking to strengthen local whānau responses—there is a place for you in this mahi.
Let’s connect, share insights, and co-create a future where families thrive, and men stand tall in their responsibility with love, strength, and courage.
Monty Valivaka
Senior Facilitator
Pepeha
Ko Rāmaroa te Maunga
Ko Hokianga te Moana
Ko Ngātokimatawhaorua te Waka
Ko Ngāpuhi te Iwi
Ko Ngāti Koro te Hapū
Ko Pākanae te Marae
Ko Meljane rāua ko John Valivaka ōku mātua
Ko Monty Valivaka tōku ingoa
Professional Profile
I am proudly Maori and Niuean, raised in the heart of South Auckland—a place that has shaped not only who I am, but how I serve. My whakapapa connects me to the whenua of Te Tai Tokerau and the ancestral strength of my Niuean heritage. I carry both lineages with pride and responsibility, weaving together cultural values that underpin every part of my journey.
Over the years, I have cultivated deep and meaningful relationships across the community. My life’s work is grounded in service—serving people, whanau, and communities through connection, compassion, and integrity. I am deeply committed to walking alongside others in their healing and transformation, offering not just tools and support, but genuine care and cultural safety.
Whanau and Personal Values
As a devoted husband and father, my whanau is at the core of my purpose. They are my motivation, my grounding force, and my reminder of what truly matters. The values I strive to live by—alofa, manaakitanga, tautua, and whanaungatanga—are not just words, but actions that shape the way I lead, support, and uplift others.
I believe transformation happens through trust, and trust is built through presence, humility, and consistency. Whether in one-on-one mentoring, group facilitation, or community engagement, I bring a relational and culturally anchored approach that honours each person’s story and potential.
Community Work and Leadership
With years of experience supporting men, rangatahi, and whanau through life’s toughest seasons, I have developed a reputation for being both streetwise and heart-led. I bring a calm strength and a steady presence into spaces that often require courage, truth-telling, and accountability.
My work is guided by the belief that true change begins with connection—when a person feels seen, heard, and valued. I have a passion for helping fathers reclaim their place within the whānau, not as distant figures, but as present, loving leaders who break cycles and build legacies.
FATHERS FOR FAMILIES VOLUNTEERS
Ko Wai Ahau – Who Am I?
Ko Maungataniwha te maunga
Ko Hokianga te awa
Ko Ngātokimatawhaorua te waka
Ko Ngāpuhi te iwi
Ko Ngāti Toro te hapū
Ko Piki Te Aroha te marae
Ko Damien Anderson ahau
Maori, Samoan — born and raised in South Auckland. My life once moved through addiction, loss, and brokenness. Today, it moves through faith, restoration, and purpose.
My recovery is more than sobriety — it’s redemption. It’s learning to walk again with dignity, to rebuild what was lost, and to stand as the man my whanau can depend on.
As a Peer Support Worker, I walk alongside others who are ready to rebuild their lives and reconnect with their families. Together, we uncover strength through identity, accountability, and faith — guiding each other toward hope and healing.
With lived experience in the mental health and addiction sector, I’ve learned that healing begins when we feel seen, heard, and believed in. My role isn’t to fix others, but to stand beside them — to remind them that even the hardest stories can be rewritten.
Ko au tenei.
In the end, I am just another father who was once lost to the world but found redemption in Christ.
No story is too broken to rebuild.
(Luke 15:24)
Community Mentor
DAMIEN ANDERSON
MATENI LYNCH
Community Mentor
About me
I am a father on a healing journey — a living reminder that no matter how far we fall, redemption is always within reach. I walk in compassion, faith, and purpose, standing beside men who carry the same scars I once did, helping them turn pain into purpose.
My story with Fathers For Families (FFF) began in 2024, sitting in the 10-week programme that first cracked open the walls I’d built around myself. It was the start of something new — not just a course, but a call to transformation.
In 2025, I joined the new 14-week kaupapa, this time not as a participant but as a student of life again. Term 1 gave me insight into a framework that mirrored my own journey — one that honoured wairua, identity, and restoration.
By Term 2, I was stepping forward as a Co-Facilitator, learning to connect my story with the lessons, bringing light into spaces where shame once lived.
By Term 3, I had graduated as a Facilitator — guiding others, mentoring co-facilitators, and leading discussions that reached deep into the hearts of men ready to change.
I am a father of two, grounded by the unwavering love of a whanau who refused to give up on me during my lost years. Their faith became the spark that lit my own.
Those years — tangled in gangs, violence, crime, drugs, and prison — once defined my name. But today, I see them as chapters that had to be written before purpose could take its place. What the enemy meant for destruction, God used to shape my calling.
Change is not reserved for the few — it’s the birthright of every man who’s willing to rise again. My transformation is a testimony that freedom is possible, healing is real, and faith still moves mountains.
Every session I lead, every father I walk beside, reminds me why I’m here: to give back what was freely given — hope.
“But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto thee.”
– Matthew 6:33