Samoan language week 2021 - fa'atāuaina o le vaiaso mo le gagana Samoa...

 

Today is a special day as it marks the second day of Samoan language week with celebrations starting yesterday and also the birthday of my beloved of which we will be celebrating today.

The theme for the week is a Samoan proverbial saying or alaga upu: "Poupou le lotoifale, ola manuia le anofale" which when translated means strengthen the posts of your house for all to thrive.

This is an apt proverb for every family in that those posts could stand for sharing love, encouragement, care, loyalty, help, support etc. the positive things that we as parents should try and ensure so that our children, grandchildren and parents (often Samoan multi-generational homes) can thrive individually but also as a collective.

I'm so thankful for my parents encouraging me to speak my first language, especially my father who saw the importance of expressing this even when I didn't understand its importance at the time but it was a gift of being able to converse with my grandparents in their/own indigenous language and when returning to Samoa, I feel at home even though I was brought up in New Zealand.

Now for sharing this with our next generations in teaching them not only the language but also the principles and values of respect, caring for our elderly and the importance of faith as in the motto of Samoa as "Samoa fa'avae i le Atua" or Samoa's foundation is in God...

The Blessing Aotearoa, NZ to the rest of the world...

 Yesterday, at the Hagar Women's Retreat event I was blessed by a video that was shared at the end of the event that has been circulating since last year. It's a song that we sang at our family church of Life Church South after lockdown last year (different from my birth church of Mangere PIC) and it's gone global.

So if you search on YouTube you'll find that many nations all over the world took up the challenge to sing the song as a blessing for its nation/s on Youtube. This was a special blessing especially after the events of 2020 Pandemic and a way of uniting churches to share this blessing upon their nation/s.

I still think that Aotearoa, New Zealand's rendition is neat but then in listening to the various versions by Carribean, Australian, Espana, Italian, Canadian etc. it's quite amazing how each nation has made it their own through iconic scenes, indigenous and national languages and local, nationhood peoples.

I'd encourage you to have a listen to one or all the different renditions and pick your favourite one. If you have no favourites then just be blessed this Sunday through the coming together of churches globally to bless one another and you...

HAGAR - caring for vulnerable people in human trafficking and modern day slavery...

 

Today, I went to an all day Women's Retreat sponsored by Hagar at Life Church South in Manukau. It was a really well needed peace-filled day that had me thinking about a lot of things.

One of the sad statistics that was shared was the fact that Modern day slavery and Human trafficking are very alive and well and thriving in all countries of the world in varying degrees.

Out of 167 countries in the world, a system was developed that rated countries according to the status of women and the degree to which human trafficking and slavery was prevalent in society.

New Zealand came 14th out of 167 countries with Norway as the 1st and sadly the last two countries were 166 with Afghanistan and 167 faring as the worst for women.

It was explained that 40 million people in the world were in situations of slavery today with 24% being children and 71% being females. The most vulnerable people were known to be those especially who were moving across borders and often from war torn countries and refugees.

The factors which seem to be fuelling these include: consumerism i.e. the fact that there is a demand for it, secondly; the sexualization of people through porn, the sex industry etc. and thirdly; greed for making money. Sadly human trafficking and slavery is the second most illegal money making source after drugs and before selling firearms.

Sadly, international laws are still not being developed fast enough and even New Zealand doesn't even have any laws in place to combat modern slavery. But there is a petition that is currently being circulated digitally to try and address the problem and you can find it to sign and share on https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/take-action-against-modern-slavery/signatures

You might ask what one can do by being in a country that is relatively safe from modern slavery or human trafficking? one answer could be in buying from companies that try to buy ethically sourced products often shown on their products.

Or even sponsoring or donating to organisations such as Hagar, as I have decided to do, or finding out more information from Tear Fund, World Vision or Trade Aid as to how you can help or volunteer for such organisations. There is actually a lot we can do if we step out in faith as you never know where it might take you...

Happy 84th Birthday to Papa...

 Today, we celebrated the 84th birthday of my special Papa at a local Restaurant with three generations blessed by his presence and inspired by his life's story of leaving Samoa in 1957 at the young age of 20, to forge a new life in Auckland, NZ from his homeland of Samoa.

It's been a real blessing to have witnessed so many milestones in his life and when asked by one of his grandchildren as to what was the best year/decade of his life, he said that it was the year that he met my mum in 1962 when he was just 25 years old and she was 23.

Well, they say that the rest is history but had he not been working on the Tofua boat that sailed regularly from Samoa to NZ with passengers (and bananas which is why it was called the 'banana boat') he would not have met my beautiful mother (to be) who was travelling to Samoa for the first time and it was love at first sight.

It's been a blessing to have been mentored by both my parents in the things that I've learned about 'tu ma aganu'u fa'aSamoa' i.e. customs and protocols of Samoa and I've still got so much to learn but have been blessed by them as guiding beacons in my Christian life as well for which I am so thankful to God for parents such as them...

Beautiful artist gift for Aunt...

 

This week I've been busy with so many different things going on and so has my lil' sis' who's been busy working on her art projects for her Master's degree.

This is one particular piece that I really like that she recently drew then framed up and gave for our Aunt on the occasion of her 80th birthday.

I think my Aunt might have thought initially that it was a print or a poster because it looks so neatly done until you carefully look and can see my sister's signature on the bottom.

She's also drawing a special one for another upcoming birthday present and I know for sure that the recipient will really like it as well as it also designed similarly to this one with it's intricate shading for the discerning eye.

As for my art pieces, I've been taking a holiday for a time as I have so much other work and projects that are keeping me busy for the time being but soon I'll have to put some hard yards into making sure that those projects are also completed before the year's end... 

Happy 80th Birthday Auntie Mafa...

A big HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY to my auntie Tuamafa (now shortened to Mafa) with whom we celebrated her special day together with our families and some of my cousins flying in from Australia now that the trans-Tasman bubble has opened.

She is my mum's younger sister i.e. three girls with my younger auntie who passed away in the 1980s and another younger sister in Samoa.

It was so neat to see family together especially as many of us had grown up together and shared many memories of her.

I expressed that she was the auntie that I was most scared of, growing up, as she was very strict and had a no-nonsense way about her that I never wanted to say or do anything with her that would get me into trouble. 

However, as I grew up and came to know her, I started to appreciate the many calm and reassuring ways about her that although she never had any biological children of her own, she brought up many children as her own and many of my cousins call her 'mum' and have been blessed with her in their lives.

It was certainly a beautiful night that her younger 'daughter' Annie Grace (beautiful singer and songwriter) organised for her (initially against her wishes in wanting something very low key) but then we all appreciated the beauty of being able to have a family reunion, of sorts, in exchanging stories and enjoying our time together.

I thank God for the influence of this special lady in my life. She continues to be a blessing and a powerful influence to in her strong faith in God, her dedication to loving those around her, her prayer life that binds us together. May God grant to her many, many more birthdays to continue to bless those around her...

 

Pfizer Vaccine COVID-19 dose 1...

Today, I went with our middle child and took my parents (and myself) to get the much talked about Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine from our local community health provider.

I must say that it was a well oiled machine from checking our car in at the gate, providing wheel chairs for my parents and a mask with an easy to follow well marked out areas for consultation etc.

I had at first heard about long waiting queues etc. but I didn't have any problems having booked in a 10am appointment. There were a few people in attendance as well but it was well coordinated.

We did the consultation, filled out the forms and then went and received the vaccination with a Samoan nurse who was able to discuss the vaccine with my parents. We received the vaccination which was very quick and a sticker for our efforts.

We then had to wait for 20 minutes in a waiting area whilst filling in a evaluation survey and then made our way back to our waiting car with in all took about 75 minutes.

It wasn't an easy decision to decide to get vaccinated but having discussed it with our local doctor as well as other medical professionals we felt that it was the best action to take rather than not acting and then regretting it later.

There is a second dose which needs to be administered in the next three weeks and I'm glad that we were given the chance to have it administered. I think and pray for the families all over the world who have not had this opportunity and how the pandemic is again surging in many parts of the world like India, Papua New Guinea etc. definitely an important consideration for 3rd world countries too...

 

Happy Mother's Day...

 

A big HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mothers out there. I'm spending this very special day with my own mum who happens to be the woman that I most respect and also my best friend.

I've learnt so much from my mum over the years. She, to me, is the best cook i.e. she cooks with a lot of love, the best baker, the best sewer and crafter. The list goes on.

In fact, my interest in art came from watching my mum create things. She is also resourceful and doesn't like to see things wasted. My mum lost her biological mum when she was only very young.

But she was able to raise my family with a lot of love and care. Perhaps from the many blessings and lessons that I've learnt from her, one of the special ones is the unconditional love that she has for us all.

I've been blessed by her presence and influence in my life and I'll be spending the day with her and also having other mother's and family around to spend together. I only hope that I can be as loving and caring as she is to our families as she has a lot of patience and kindness to all who come home.

During the lockdowns in 2020, it was especially important that were able to support my elderly parents by having a bubble with our middle daughter supporting them whilst I or my husband would go shopping for our households so that we could support her and my dad (and sister) in not wanting to break their bubble. 

It was a scary time for us all but so grateful that we could have that time to support them. Now it's all about trying to support our mothers in their senior years with whatever they need. I am so thankful to God for my mother and pray for a special blessing for her and all mothers to be blessed on this special day....

Community groups and local Volunteers Day...

 

A couple of days ago, I attended a local community groups' day (albeit a little bit late with the many hats that I wear).

I found out that it was a 'hit' in that many people had attended and it's a day that volunteer organisations came make their presence known in having a stand just outside the local library in the forecourt.

I spoke with Toni, the founder and organiser of this day and it was good to learn about the different groups and the good that the are doing in the communities especially during the lockdowns too.

Often volunteers are the unsung heroes of our communities who may work day in and day out to support communities but often may not be paid workers such as CAB Citizens Advice Bureau volunteers, many church organisation and charitable trust volunteers (not unlike myself) and with our schools and Daycare centres etc.

This is a day that we can make the invisible - visible and a day of celebration for the amazing work that they do. I remember when my dad retired and he started volunteering in delivering 'Meals on Wheels' and then also driving for the Blind Foundation.

There's definitely room for many more volunteers and I also think that it's really important work for the soul when we reach out and support the more vulnerable members of our communities in whatever we are able to do for them. Often it's a blessing in disguise for us...

Supporting Pink Ribbon Breakfasts...

 

This year again, I'm hosting a Pink Ribbon Breakfast as I hosted my first one over 10 years ago at a Primary school in Manurewa where I taught adults.

The theme colour is, you guessed it, PINK! and the breakfast is always yummy. This year, I'm thinking of keeping simple and inviting the ladies in my family who are available to fundraise and to also donate to my fundraising website.

I know of several women who have had breast cancer through friends and family and I understand that it's quite scary once diagnosed with the right information. It's also important that family support is there or even through friends.

Having regular breast checks at breast clinics or doing your own regular breasts checks then to go to see your family doctor if you have any concerns especially if you are aware that there have been changes that the doctor may not be aware of.

So supporting a good cause and the Pink Ribbon campaign also sent me a bunch of merchandise to sell on their behalf to raise $ for the cause. I definitely will be modelling some of the merchandise if any of your are interested in supporting please do contact me or sponsor through this platform above or email me...

* Aprons $25

* Book key ring $5

* Reuseable shopping bags (pink) $5

* Pen $1 or $2

* Nail file $1 or $2

or just donate to a worthy cause...

Thanks

Peter Rabbit 2 holiday movie...

Watched Peter Rabbit 2 for entertainment purposes with my family and we had a great time. Although I personally thought that the first movie was a lot more entertaining and a lot more laughs than the second but then is usually the case for many movies.

The Peter Rabbit storybooks were ones that I grew up with and I remembered being gifted a set because of the neat illustrations and the characters in each of the books that was echoed in the movie. The funny thing is that there are no rabbits in Samoa (that I'm aware of) but it was still an interesting book to read growing up.

So I guess I would recommend it to families with small children who would be entertained by rabbits jumping around with little jackets or vests. I quite like the fact that they have a warm relationship with the character who is the writer of the book and that she looks after them well.

Another movie where you need to suspend your disbelief for just a short time in order to enjoy the movie that will be fun and laughter to the little audience who like such antics and to the adults who just need a little time to remember the laughter of childhood...
 

The art and beauty of tapa for next generations...

During a local hospital visit of a friend, I came upon this mounted tapa cloth on the wall at the lobby whilst awaiting an elevator ride to the bottom floor.

In fact, I let the elevator go whilst taking the photo and to have a closer inspection of tapa as it looked quite recent with no source or information on it.

The style looks like Samoa tapa designs but it could also be Tongan in its make as unfortunately, not many Samoan families are making tapa as they did in my maternal great grandmother's time.

Still, it was a beauty to behold and it quite stopped me in my tracks as I stopped to admire the handicraft of the work of art that stood before me. I am aware that there are some young Pacific artists who are learning of this craft to carry on the knowledge for future generations and I'm hoping to be able to learn and pass it on also to our next generations.

But for now, I'll continue admiring the artform and learning to paint and draw the stylized elements until such a time that our borders can open again and then back to Samoa I'll go to one day start learning about the art of making beautiful tapa cloth like my namesake great grandmother Eleni...