A Piece of Myself

I had a cool visit with Senior Pasifika students at Edendale School today. At the end of the workshop, I asked the kids: “What do you want to remember from today?” Here are some of their responses :Never give up on your dreamsBooks can change your lifeBelieve in yourself and find people who believe in…

Amazing day celebrating Solomon Islands culture and stories with the launch of 5 bilingual children’s books by Mary Polosovai illustrated by Chad Robertson. I met Irene Tufuga, Pasifika Librarian, who said it breaks her heart when children of minority groups come to the library asking for books about their own cultures and she has to…

Today I was blessed to interview Dr Karlina Tongotea who is not only a doctor but a world champion power lifter! Lina is South Auckland- raised and comes from Māori (Ngāpuhi and Ngāi Tahu) and Tongan heritage. It was so inspiring to hear her stories and I can’t wait to share them in a new…

Wow man! Never would I have thought that a book I wrote would be nominated for a NZ Children’s Books award. But it happened with Freestyle: the Israel Adesanya Story that Ant Sang and I made. What an honour to attend the awards event, to hang out with awesome Kiwi writers and illustrators and be…

Today Kedgley Intermediate School launched the book we made together celebrating their incredible alumni. A supercity mayor, Black Ferns captain, successful businesswomen, entrepreneurs, writers, MMT captain, world class singers and more have come from this wonderful South Auckland school.

One thing I noticed from going to the Pacific Champs league games was how many children and young people were at the games repping their national teams. I saw Tongan children chanting the words of the Sipi Tau and Samoan children doing the same with the Siva Tau. This really inspired me to think of…