Coco Talanoa — Humans of the Islands / Page 6

SEFA PALU & JESSICA MATAVAO 

COMPETITORS IN THE AMAZING RACE AUSTRALIA

TONGAN & SAMOAN 

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SEFA - I'm from Western Sydney, Australia. Born in Auckland, NZ but have lived in Australia since I was 9. My mum and dad are Tongan and come from Tofoa, Ha'apai and Holonga, Tongatapu respectively. I did high school in Sydney, then moved to the US when I was 19 for a mission for my church and then I stuck around for college over there. I have a degree in Public Relations and Philosophy and I am currently working as a Sales Rep in the health sector. So, a bit of mixed bag in regards to life experience. 

JESSICA - I'm of Samoan heritage. My mother is from Falefa which I know more about than my fathers side. I was raised  in Samoa (Leifiifi) until I was 14, I moved to Sydney Australia. I work in Government.…more

JOHNSON RAELA

JOURNALIST and PRESENTER ABC AUSTRALIA'S 'THE PACIFIC'

COOK ISLANDS 

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Kia Orana, my name is Johnson Raela and I am a proud New Zealand born Cook Islander from the island of Aitutaki and my village is Amuri (Te Upoko Enua). I’m also proud to be from Mangere, South Auckland. 

I’m currently living in Melbourne/Naarm, and work at ABC Australia as host of ‘The Pacific’ TV show. 

I have a background in television (Tagata Pasifika, Sky Sport News, What Now, Operation Hero and Polyfest), radio (Flava FM) and communications. 

Prior to moving to Australia I owned 008 Media, which is a creative communications agency specialising media, digital and communications management. I guess the easiest way to describe this mahi is that I helped to advise organisations on various campaigns. 

You'll be presenting Season 2 of the ABC Pacific show 'The Pacific' which premieres 03 .  Can you tell us a bit more about the show and how the opportunity came up? 

'The Pacific' is a 30-minute news program that airs on ABC Australia.…more

ABBA-ROSE DINAH VAIAOGA-IOASA

FILM PRODUCER 

SAMOAN 

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Talofa lava. My name is Abba-Rose Dinah Vaiaoga-Ioasa and I am from the villages of Alafua, Toamua and Puipa’a in Samoa. I was born and raised in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. I’m originally from Northcote but have lived most of my life in central Auckland. I’m a former Auckland Girls Grammar School student and I am currently in the Screen industry working as a Film Producer. My Production company is called Cadness Street which pays homage to the street I grew up on in Northcote.

What were the pathways that brought you to where you are and what you're doing today?

I originally went to University and completed a Bachelor of Engineering specialising in Chemical and Materials Engineering. After working as a Process Engineer for a few years I was starting to think about my next step in my Engineering career and it just so happened to be around the same time as when my brother (Writer and Director) Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa was thinking about his second feature film Hibiscus and Ruthless (2018).…more

Dahlia Malaeulu  

Author and Educator 

Samoan  

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I am Samoan, born in Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand. I have connections to the villages of Sinamoga and Vaivase tai in Samoa through my parents Malo and Lagi Gray. I was raised and currently live in Wainuiomata, the biggest suburb in the Hutt Valley with a heart to match. Happily married to Mani Malaeulu, my favourite job in the world is being the proud mother of our two young boys, Mason and Isaia. I am a passionate educator at heart, which is at the centre of everything I do. I currently teach part-time, facilitate professional development workshops for schools and early childhood centres as well as author online articles and Pasifika children’s books.

What were the pathways that led you to what you are doing now? 

I had great teachers growing up and always wanted to teach. A classroom and senior teacher at Wainuiomata Intermediate School for 12 years, I loved enabling tamaiti to confidently and proudly succeed as Pasifika.…more

HAANZ FA'AVAE-JACKSON 

ACTOR 

NIUEAN / TONGAN / SAMOAN 

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My name is Haanz Fa’avae Jackson. Born in South Auckland, where I still reside with my big Otahuhu family. My bloodline runs through Niue, Tonga & Samoa. When I'm not working on my career or spending time with family, I help manage "Konfident Clothing", a clothing brand me and my brother launched mid lock down. When there's no work, make work. 

How long have you been in the entertainment industry and do you have a highlight or favourite experience in your career so far?

I graduated from PIPA in 2014, and I haven't stopped performing since.  Started strong on the theatre stage, where I really got to sharpen my craft and find my feet as a professional performer & actor, which then later on lead to the huge world of screen.

Highlights for me would have to be the travelling. I never really got to travel much as a kid, but I had always wanted to.…more

RAYMOND SAGAPOLUTELE 

Photographer/ Visual Artist

Samoan 

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Tell us a bit about yourself - where were you born and raised? 

Talofa lava and thanks for the opportunity to share. I was born at Middlemore Hospital in Otahuhu and I spent my early years in Invercargill and the Waikato and our family came back to South Auckland in 1980 and I’ve been a proud son of Manurewa ever since.

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How did you first get into photography? Where did you make your start? 

Mum and dad always had a camera in the house, they weren’t anything fancy and it was either a polaroid or those weird think Kodak cameras that used 110 film – they looked like those skinny little cameras you’d seen in spy films. I used to play around with them and some of my early photos are both awesome and hilarious. I didn’t take it seriously as part of my practice as an artist until around 2003 when, at my wife's insistence I took a couple of night classes to learn how to shoot, develop film and print.…more

SAIPELE VAIMOSO

Podcast/ Radio Show Host & Personality

Samoan

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Tell us a little bit about yourself: where were you born and raised and what ethnicity are you? 

I am Saipele Vaimoso (29) and I’m Samoan. My mum comes from the villages of Vaisala, Sasatele and Falealili; my dad is from Vaimoso, Faleapuna and Falefa. I was born in Otahuhu, South Auckland and grew up in Otara. Brisbane, Australia is where I’ve resided since I was 15 years old.

For those who don't know about Queer Coco podcast, what is it and why did you start it? 

I started the Queer Coco Podcast to tell my own story as a Gay Samoan man and it has now evolved into platform for other Queer Pasifika & Maori people to tell theirs. I would like the Podcast to be a resource for not only our QPM Youth and our allies but also for parents.

You have particularly spoken about your experience growing up as a Queer Person in the Pacific Community.…more

JANICE ELIA, TAPU & JOE FUIAVA

Mental Health Initiative; Blackbutterfly Group 

Samoan

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We are a group of Pasifika people from a Samoan and Tongan heritage. We were born and raised in New Zealand and migrated to Brisbane Australia. Tapu and Janice are sisters and both work in specialised community mental health services. Joe and Tapu are married, and Joe has been working with children in crisis for many years. We’re a close-knit family that enjoys working together towards a common goal. 

Where did the idea for the Blackbutterfly initiative come from?

The idea of Blackbutterfly was born out of need. Amongst ourselves, we would often have deep discussions about the challenges we were experiencing personally but also what we saw happening to our family and friends. We basically got tired of talking and began asking ourselves what can we do about it? 

Utilising the traditional process of a talanoa, it was obvious to us that this was the most suitable mechanism for our people.…more

RUBEN VULAWALU

Communications Assistant/illustrator

Fijian

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My name is Ruben, I was born and raised in Suva and also lived in the West during my high school years in Lautoka.

How did you get into illustration art? Has it always been a passion?

I was brought up my grandparents in the early 1980s, and had just started school in Veiuto Primary School, when my grandfather/namesake who served during the Solomon Islands campaign and was a retired war veteran moved to the chiefly village of Drue in Kadavu to retire (5 hours by boat in the southern part of Viti Levu). 

He used to love reading the Fiji Times - Letters to the editors particularly. Growing up I made it a personal hobby to trace the editorial cartoons from every weekends paper and send it by snail mail to the village.…more

ANE TONGA 

Artist/ Curator of Pacific Art & Inaugral curator of Pacific Art in Toi o Tamaki, Auckland Art Gallery.  She is the newest and youngest board member of the Arts Council of NZ - the governing body of Creative NZ arts funding agency.

Tongan

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My name is Ane Tonga and I am from the villages of Vaini and Kolofo’ou. I was born and raised in Auckland-in Mount Wellington/East Side to be exact.

You and your older sister Nina are both Arts Curators in a major NZ gallery and museum - are you unicorns? How unique and important is this for Moana people? 

 Unicorns are closely related to horses and we’re Tongan so watch out, ha! All joking aside, Nina and I aren’t dissimilar to other Tongan and Pacific people; we are proud of our heritage and demand nothing less than excellence when it comes to the work that we do to serve indigenous and Pacific peoples.…more