Women’s Wellness Workshop & Disability Talanoa tonight Huge malo to Pangi for his bravery and Moala Pangi Iketau for her awesome support!! Disability is a sensitive topic for our Kainga to talk about but at the same time it’s important to have the talanoa to raise awareness and to seek help and support for our families. Very heartwarming talanoa so malo aupito Iketau family and thanks also to those who shared words of support and their experiences. Malo aipe e fai ‘etau ngaue moe fepoupouaki kotoa. Fakamafana e fevahevahe’aki ‘anenai moe famili Iketau pea ko koe oku ke fiema’u tokoni, fetu’utaki mai ke tau fengaueaki. Malo
It takes a village to raise a child, and Sina Latu is excited this idea will become reality as a new Timaru Tongan community headquarters opens. The Tongan Society South Canterbury office and youth fale (house) in Sophia St opened on Friday, bringing to life an eight-year-long dream, Latu, the group manager, said. “The youth fale is like a village,’’ she said. “Agencies in the area were really supportive of us opening this – it takes a village to raise a child, and we’re looking forward to working with those agencies.’’ Latu said the opening of the fale and office was very exciting, as in the past any work done by the society had been on a volunteer basis from a church hall or members’ houses...
For the first time since its inception 23 years ago, Canterbury Polyfest will feature a Timaru boys’ secondary school, and it has been a student-led initiative to get there, the school’s assistant rector says. The festival, on Saturday, is a representation of Pasifika traditional dance, music and custom and this year features 26 secondary schools from throughout Canterbury and the Southern region, including Timaru Boys’ High School. The school’s assistant rector Rachel Fenwick said there had been whispers among the boys over the past few years that they would like to enter the festival. “They decided it needed to happen this year,’’ she said.
Tonga’s Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni has acknowledged the “significant role Timaru and Timaru Boys’ High School played in making me what I am today”. Sovaleni was at TBHS, which he attended in 1988, on Tuesday for a special event that included kapa haka, songs and dance and speeches over shared lunch. Sovaleni addressed the about 150 guests, recalling “fond memories” and expressing amazement at how much the Tongan community had grown in South Canterbury. “The choice of Timaru, I can say with confidence was the right choice,” Sovaleni, who took office in December 2021, said.
