Carla Perese

Carla Perese is the Pastor at Faith Family Connect Church in Panmure. Her connection to the HEART Movement was inherited from her parents Tom and Margaret Ngapera who lead the Church before her. Her parents had a strong working relationship with Puamiria Maaka (former CE of Te Waipuna Puawai) and featured in HEART’s first poster campaign in 2012. For Carla it was inherent that she would continue the church’s involvement with HEART as she had faith in the community connections her parents had established.

Carla and her whānau began coming along to HEART barbeques. She said that she felt the pulse of the community and enjoyed the family vibe at these events. Later she attended a drug and alcohol workshop facilitated by Peter Thorburn. She got a lot out of attending the workshop that she could apply to the families she was supporting. One thing that Peter said that has stuck with her is “sometimes you have to hold the hope for people until they can hold it for themselves”. Carla holds the hope for people in many ways, through continuing to provide emergency housing at her Church and supporting people to gain the skills to rebuild their lives. Carla says “you have to keep on giving people the seeds to grow, they will flourish one day”.

Carla’s connection to Tāmaki runs deep being of Ngāti Paoa descent, currently her whānau has five generations living in the area. She says growing up in GI and Panmure had its challenges but that her parents never gave up on her when she was struggling. Later, her family formed a performing arts group called Colours that travelled the main cities and rural areas standing against alcohol and drugs abuse.This was a part of her life for some time before she went to YWAM (Youth With a Mission) in 2006 in Māngere as a stepping stone towards her role as a Pastor.

Today Carla is the Pastor of Faith Family Connect Church and for her it is a 24/7 role. Due to limited resources available, she says sometimes it can be hard and draining, however she is grateful for HEART providing her some respite. She attends the Women’s Koru Group which she sees it as a dedicated time for herself. The Church has been a venue for HEART events and workshops and she has seen the benefits for her members and those living at the church attending. Faith Family Connect Church was awarded the HEART “Above & Beyond” award in 2018, an awesome acknowledgement for a long standing connection and relationship. Carla says healthy relationships encompass kotahitanga, equality and whakawhānaungatanga, and it is fair to say she radiates these in everything she does.