Coco Talanoa — Humans of the Islands / Page 22

John Mateialona Maumau-Pinomi

Tongan, 31 years old

Aspiring Football player

Pita Taufatofua

Taekwondo Olympian

Tongan / Australian

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Pita is currently raising funds for the Kingdom of Tonga after a large Tsunami caused by a volcanic eruption devastated Tonga on the 15th of January.

Click here to donate to this fundraiser which has a 1 miliion dollar goal with funds specificed to go towards those most in need, infrastructure and damage to schools, hospitals etc.

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My mother's Australian/British.  My father's from Ha'apai and Vava'u in Tonga. There's seven of us, but one of my sisters passed away from Cancer when I was about 4 or 5. I'm the 3rd eldest. 

I still have memories of it. I still remember the day we had her funeral. At that age I felt the sadness from everyone else around. Because I was so young I didn't have a full grasp of what death was. But what I do remember was the sadness of the people around me, my family and everyone else. She was a student at Queen Salote college at the time, she was only 12.…more

Nastajia Bourke

Tongan / Irish

Sommelier

35 yrs, 

Florence Jaukae Kamel

Bilum Fibre Artist

Goroka, Papua New Guinea

I am Florence Jaukae Kamel, I was born and raised in Goroka. I am a single mum with five children and I have 3 grandchildren.

My mother taught me how to weave and I started weaving when I was a small girl, like 6 or 7 years old. But I didn't take it very seriously. Then one day I was looking through an encyclopedia and I saw the carpet snake and I thought 'I really like those colours'. The carpet snake had a zigzag pattern which is more like the K K design we have here in some of the bilums in PNG. I thought, 'that will look nice for a small dress'. My ancestors have been using the bilum as a baby carrier and food carrier and also as a container craft.

I wanted to be different and I started making bilum dress/outfits. I come from a small town and whenever somebody is getting a haircut everyone will want to do the same.…more

Uria George-Temanu

Flight Instructor, part-time dance tutor

Cook Islander, 33-years-old

What are you currently doing? 

Currently I’m working at Ardmore Flying School as a Flight Instructor and Ground School Coordinator.  I have just come back into the field from maternity leave so will need to get my renewal done before I start flying again.  In the meantime, I am teaching classes and organising ground school. 

Can you tell me about your background? 

I was born in Aitutaki in the Cook Islands - my mother is Atiu/Mangaian and my father Aitutakian/Norwegian. We moved to Auckland in the early 90’s where I grew up with my 6 siblings. I loved my childhood - we had the freedom to do what children do and my parents allowed us to experiment life.  I remember when my sister and I were in primary school, and our parents were at work during the weekends, we would catch the bus into the city and go to the movies, go to the mall, play sport. We were independent.…more

Ernestina Maro

African / Cook Islands

Miss Pukapuka & Miss Cook Islands Maine Tepaeru 

I know I'm a pretty weird mix. 'How did my parents meet?' is a question I always get asked (laughs). My Dad migrated here back in the days from Africa and my mum migrated here too from the Cook Islands and they pretty much fell in love in Auckland. My Dad's from Ghana, the west side of Africa. I'm planning to go back there with Dad at the end of this year and just visit my grandmother who I've never met, but I'm named after her. So this will be an epic trip for me to visit the family and meet everyone there and experience the culture because I've never been there before. I have one younger brother and an older sister. My Dad has now remarried to a Samoan woman - so now I have two beautiful half-siblings who are half Samoan. He likes his island girls! (laughs).

What are the common misconceptions about you?

I'm pretty much around my Cook Island side all the time.…more

Ray Letoa

Samoan, 28-years-old

Award-winning Mixologist

I grew up in Strathmore, Wellington which is generally stereotyped as like the 'South Auckland' of Wellington. I've got 5 sisters and two brothers and we grew up in a 3 bedroom flat - I was sleeping in the lounge, my brother was sleeping in the kitchen and we all crammed into this one place. And with determination and lots of training and just hard work, we've all seemed to come out successful in whatever we do. Our parents are really hardworkers so their work ethic transferred over to us. It was a hard journey and also a humbling one but my siblings and I understand all the struggles and the opportunities that my parents have given us, so we never take it for granted.

Is your upbringing a big motivation behind your success?

Yeah definitely! My mother is now an Early Childhood Education teacher - back in the day it was hard for her to get into University, coming from Samoa and not having much education.…more

 Ron Moala

Tongan / Fijian, 21-years-old

Owner of 'Backyard Barbers' in Darwin, Australia.

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I'm Tongan/Fijian, living in Darwin - the Northern Territory of Australia. I moved here as a teenager - my parents are Pastors and planted a church up here. It was hard at first because in New Zealand you’re so used to being surrounded by other poly’s and I felt really homesick up here. But I had to push myself to go out and mix with other cultures which was good. I learnt so much and it opened me up to how diverse the world really is and helped me breakdown different stereotypes that I had in my mind about other cultures. Especially being around the aboriginal community up here - it’s been amazing and I’ve learnt so much.…more

Myra Rogers

Fijian / Welsh, 31-years-old

International Professional Bodybuilding Athlete - IFBB Pro

I'm half Fijian, half European - my Dad was Welsh. He passed away when I was 4 years old and I was raised by Mum so I had a great Fijian influence growing up. I have 2 sisters and one older brother and we basically grew up on a farm up north in Kaukapakapa. I went to a little rural school and played sport my whole life. I never really touched the weights until I watched my partner at a bodybuilding competition and I realized it was something that I could get in to. So I went to see a nutritionist and 6 weeks later I ended up on stage in my first competition. I've been hooked ever since. 

So you do this with your partner as well, does that help?

Yes, definitely. He's Samoan, he's got a Gridiron background and is fully into weight training. He's the one that first started training me.…more

Sione Pome'e

31-years-old, Tongan

Design Engineer, Owner of Pomee Constructions Ltd, Band member of Three Houses Down

"We were brought up in those lucky times where there was no Xbox, no Play station. It was just a tennis ball, gutter board and that’s all. Those were the days when all the neighbours knew each other and after school, we already knew that everyone was gonna gather together at ‘this’ person’s house and play bullrush in the front lawn you know? that’s how I remember my upbringing. We’re one of the lucky ones. Kids don’t get brought up that way these days. Back then, you see what you don’t have and it was kind of a motivation for you to do something with your life."

Do you have a favourite childhood memory?

I have this memory I keep at the back of my head all the time, and it’s a memory of my dad coming home everyday from work and getting out of his overalls.…more