Fereni Pepe Ete QSM established the first A'oga Amata at the EFKS church in Newtown in 1985 making a huge contribution to the preschool where the Samoan language was being taught.

Samoan

"E tāua tele le a'oa'oina o fanau a Samoa i la latou lava gagana."​

Sa faavae e Fereni Pepe Ete QSM le A'oga Amata muamua i Niu Sila i le 1985 i le EFKS i Newtown. E telē lona sao mo A'oga Amata. O lana mau "E tāua tele le a'oa'oina o fanau a Samoa i la latou lava gagana."

Sa malaga muamua mai Fereni i le 1954 ina ua 14 ona tausaga e a'oga i Niu Sila ae na toe vave fo'i i Samoa ona ua misia lona āiga. E sau mai se aiga e 15 le fanauga. O lona tamā sa Foma'i i Samoa.

Na toe malaga mai Fereni ma lona to'alua Reverend Risatisone Ete e avea ma Faafeagaiga a le EFKS i Newtown. Na taunu'u i le masina o Tesema 1974.

Sa faaauau e Fereni lana galuega mo a'oga amata a o la tausia le Ekalesia. Sa a'oga i le Iunivesetē i Vitoria mo lona faailoga i le Early Childhood Education.

Sa faaliliuina e Fereni le Ta'iala mo A'oga Amata i le gagana Samoa. Sa ia faavaeina fo'i le A'oga mo Faia'oga Amata i Niu Sila.

Na faamanuiaina Fereni i le faailoga tauoloa o le QSM i le tausaga e 2014.

English

"Teaching Samoan kids in their own language is very important."

Fereni Pepe Ete QSM established the first A'oga Amata at the EFKS church in Newtown in 1985. She has made a huge contribution to the development of A'oga Amata, a preschool where the Samoan language was being taught. "Teaching Samoan kids in their own language is very important," she said.

Fereni first travelled to New Zealand in 1954 when she was fourteen to further her education but felt homesick and returned to Samoa. She is from a family of 15 (8 girls and 7 boys). Their father was a doctor in Samoa. She later travelled to New Zealand with her husband Reverend Risatisone Ete who became the Church Minister for the Ekalesia Faapotopotoga Kerisiano Samoa (EFKS) in Newtown. They arrived in December 1974.

During their church ministry, Fereni pursued her passion and attended Victoria University for further studies in Early Childhood Education. She also translated the Early Childhood Education Guideline into the Samoa language. Fereni's achievements in her field also include establishing a Training School for A'oga Amata teachers, working to ensure future generations know their own culture's language. She was recognised for her community work and was awarded the QSM in 2014.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details