Jane | Ōtara, Auckland

“The biggest influence on who I am today I think is my parents. Also, the Samoan community in New Zealand. How they’ve been helping Pacific Islanders, especially our Samoan community in New Zealand.

They really are a big influence to us Samoans. They go out in their own ways to make sure that we’re okay, and if we need help, they will provide whatever kind of help that we need. 

So, I used to be in a dance group, and some of the kids in the dance group, the family can’t really provide much for them. So the tutors  go out on their own way. They provide groceries every week for them. I think that helps me, as well. I think that not everyone is as bad as you think they are. There’s still people out there that are really good. They love their people. Not their own people, but the community, and everyone as well. It’s a Samoan dance group, but it’s a mixture of cultures as well. It’s not only Samoan people. The tutors allow different backgrounds in it, if they want to get involved. They’re more than happy to make sure that they learn the culture, the language as well, and some of the students in the dance group are Tongan’s, Cook Islanders, and by the end of the season, they already know how to speak Samoan and that. So, it’s pretty cool.

I moved here in 2015. I was adopted by my Mum’s cousin. So, I moved here in 2015, and my whole life I grew up in Samoa. I was born in American Samoa, but then we moved to Western Samoa, since I was maybe six months old. So, I pretty much grew up there, and then I moved here in 2015. Since then, I went back. I came to visit my parents, because my parents are still on the island. I graduated from Māngere College in 2017, and I went to Auckland Uni. I finished my diploma in teaching, primary school, and now I’m doing something else, I’m doing health. So it’s really good. It’s not too late to change careers. 

Personally, growing up in the islands, it was very strict. There are certain things that we do, and there are certain things that we are not allowed to do. So, for me, being a Samoan, it’s very important to me. My culture, my identity is very important to me. Wherever I go, it’s something that I carry with me. That’s who I am. So, even though I live in New Zealand, I’m Samoan, and I can’t take that away from me. It really helps me to do things, even in school, I remember when I first came here, and I went to Māngere College. The life of the kids here, and back on the island are different. So, here when I first started school, I had this thing in mind that it’s like back in the islands, that when the teacher talks, we all cool down and be silent, but it’s different here. In some classes when the teacher was talking, the kids were still playing around. So, at the time, I was like, that’s a bit rude, but I found out later, it’s normal for them. It’s the way that I was brought up, and teachers back in the islands are very strict, and education is very important to us back home. 

It’s called fa’asinomaga. So, that’s ‘identity’ in Samoan. I think your fa’asinomaga is the most important thing to you. Because wherever you go, wherever life takes you, it’s your fa’asinomaga. You’ll always look back to that, and you do things according to that.”