Akarere is proud to be of Cook Islands descent, with her father from Aitutaki, her mother from Penrhyn and her husband from Pukapuka. She’s also proud to be born and bred in Tokoroa.

Most of all, however, she’s proud at how united the town’s Pacific population is.

As CEO of South Waikato Pacific Islands Community Services (SWPICS) in Tokoroa for more than a decade, Akarere Henry is proud of the family violence work undertaken since she joined the organisation.  They will be part of community consultations with Pasifika Futures to identify areas of investment for Government funding specifically for Pasifika aspirations.

Vaiata Ariki Mitchell was born in Rarotonga.  Her mother Merematira Clarke nee Tui was born in Kaviri Takuvaine. Vaiata's grandfather Momore Tere John was from Atiu.  

 

Vaiata is the Chairperson for the Kuki Airani Language week in Wellington and has been on the committee for a few years.  She also sits on the Cook Island Soldiers of World War 1 committee. 

 

Kia Orana and Happy Cook Island Language week and Cook Island Constitution day.

LOIMATA, The Sweetest Tears is a documentary feature film by Anna Marbrook that honours the last voyage of the great waka maker, sailor and mentor Lilo Ema Siope, whose journeys between Aotearoa and Sāmoa in search of healing, and her family’s reckoning with systemic abuse, are powerfully documented.

The stunning LOIMATA, The Sweetest Tears is a chronicle of journeys – journeys of migration, spirituality, voyaging, healing and coming home. Confronting intergenerational trauma head on, the Siope family returns to their homeland of Sāmoa.

Rita Seumanutafa is a highly-respected leader, educator, academic and member of the Pacific Island community in Melbourne since emigrating to Australia 18 years ago.  She joins us this morning to talk about the resurgence of Covid19 cases in Melbourne and how the recently declared state of emergency is affecting our Pacific communities.

K’aute Pasifika Trust is a charitable trust based in Hamilton that works with communities toward a shared vision of improved health and wellbeing.  

K’aute Pasifika is the lead provider for the Midlands Pacific Provider collective Aere Tai a Collective made up of seven Pacific community health providers delivering high quality community services to Pasifika communities in the Midlands region.

We have K’aute Pasifika Operations Manager Sarah Halliday on the line to talk about community consultations with Pasifika Futures

Samoan artist and Pacific Sisters collective member Feeona Clifton is of Samoan and European heritage and hails from the villages of Malie/Fasito’outa, Safune and Lano. 

Feeonaa and her husband Communications Engineer Neville Clifton got married in February this year to celebrate 25 years of being together.

They left NZ in early March for their honeymoon and to have a second ceremony in the Falklands where Neville was born.  While in the Falklands archipelago however Covid19 forced the country into lockdown meaning the newlyweds could not fly back home. 

Feeona and Neville Clifton are safely back in New Zealand and Feeonaa is on the line to tell us the story of how they managed to get back to New Zealand

As we celebrate Cook Island Language week today we cross over to the Cook Islands to speak with Uirangi Bishop, a well known Cook Island Dance champion.  Born and raised on the island of Aitutaki in the village of Nikaupara also known as Maru o Toi.  

Her father is Tekura Bishop and mother Koi Bishop.  In 2011 Uirangi decided to retire from competitive dancing but has stepped in to mentor a number of dancers and Te Maeva Nui dance teams.  

Her winning streak in the Senior Section consisted of 1st in 2005, 2nd in 2006, 1st in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011 when she retired. She is also a mother to a four year old who also loves and enjoys dancing.

Lofanitani Aisea Ball identifies as Modoc Klamath Black and Tongan.  She is a senior at the University of Oregon.  She was born and raised in Portland but is very proud of her Pasifika heritage.  Lofanitani is a Resident Assistant at the University of Oregon, Mills International Center Resource Consultant, Climate Justice Warrior and more recently a graduate of the inaugural cohort of Pacific Pawa Up Fellowship 2020.

Numangatini Mackenzie was born in Canada where his hunger to understand his culture grew, which prompted him to move to the Cook Islands in 2009. This move gave Numa the opportunity to grow family ties and his understanding of cultural arts like tapa, tatau and voyaging.

Interdisciplinary artist Numa works in graf, tatau and mixed media installation. His practice centers on the exploration of urban space and the processes of building connections to his Pacific heritage and people. 

He is actively i nvolved in cultural heritage projects, research and community development in the Cook Islands and New Zealand, where he is now based.

Numa often responds to these experiences and sites of investigation through large public graf installations, performance and printmaking.

https://numanaturesgentleman.com/about

With Melbourne’s Covid19 crisis being so bad specialist medical teams built to handle humanitarian disasters are being called in we cross live to Auckland born Tongan artist, production coordinator and Pacific sister collective member now based in Melbourne Jaunnie Ilolahia to give us about life is like for residents