Fale Pasifika O Aoraki, a Timaru-based charitable non-profit organisation, launched its anti-bullying project, also for the wider Oamaru community, at the Orwell St Church.
Oamaru-based Beni Latavao has been appointed to head the anti-bullying project and will visit churches, schools, workplaces, sports clubs and homes to educate, raise awareness and promote action.
Mr Latavao will also work with other like-minded organisations in the community, including Youthtown and police.
Guest speaker Kim Willetts spoke of her family's struggles with bullying.
Two of her sons have muscular dystrophy, spending time in and out of wheelchairs, and dealing with bullying and being treated differently on a daily basis.
''What made a difference was the people around us, the community and the people who supported our boys,'' Mrs Willetts said.
Mrs Willetts, the CCS Disability Action national president, also read out a letter one of her sons wrote to his school just before he graduated.
''They call me `retard', `cripple' - I've spoken to teachers and told them about this and what I hear is: `We don't have an issue with bullies at this school' or ... `They bully everyone','' he wrote.
The then 17-year-old said he had been told on numerous occasions to just ''harden up'', ''stop complaining'' or think about the issues the bullies faced at home.
But he also struggled with severe depression and anxiety.
''I just want to be like everyone else ... I deserve to be treated with respect, I deserve to feel safe,'' he wrote to the school.
''Words do hurt, and when I have to put up with it every day of my life in an environment where I should feel safe, there's something wrong.''
He said his last year of high school was better, but asked the question: ''Is it better, or is it because there's a light at the end of the tunnel?'.
Mrs Willetts said it took a community to make a difference and she hoped the project, launched yesterday, would help lift the cone of silence on bullying.
Bullying did not appear to be a major problem in Oamaru, Fale Pasifika O Aoraki manager Ofa Boyle said. Ms Boyle said all eyes were on Oamaru, ''this small place in the South Island that the Pacific people, the Tongan community, is growing so fast''.
Aside from addressing any bullying issues, Ms Boyle said it would be a good opportunity for more of the Oamaru Pacific Island community to connect.
''There's a lot of people here, but you don't see a lot of them,'' she said.
''It's about supporting each other and making a difference.''
She hoped the project would promote positive parenting and encourage young people to stop, get involved and stand up to bullying.
Representatives from various community organisations were at the official launch of the project yesterday.
Fale Pasifika O Aoraki, offering support for the Pacific Island communities from Ashburton to Oamaru, also promotes an anti-violence campaign, which will run alongside the Anti-Bullying Project 2014-15.
