Samoan

The American TikToker obsessed with Pasifika food and Kiwi kindness

Profit and his family spent a weekend in Timaru attending the Colgate Games recently. After the athletics meet, the family came back to their vehicle and realised they had a flat tyre. 

Tagata Pasifika reports in a video titled ‘NZ is just different’, Profit told his followers, “I was about to go out and change the tyre when my wife reminded me that we have roadside assistance, so we called them, and they told us they would be there in 15 minutes.

“It has been like, 10 people – literally 10 people, I’m not exaggerating – that has stopped and said ‘hey man, you need help?’

Husband and wife write children's books to help keep Pacific languages alive

Deborah Sanerivi says she started writing the books with her husband Oka to help her own family, as well as others.

“I wrote the books simply so I could learn. I couldn’t find resources that were structured in a way that helped me to say the sentences that I wanted to say to my new little girl.

“As she got older and we started to incorporate more sentences and more of the language into her life, we realised there are more families like ours that don’t necessarily have the language base to help them speak our language or their language to their children.”

Multi-lingual plays published in new book

"Talanoa: Four Pacific Plays" is the latest work from New Zealand-based Little Island Press.

RNZI reports the plays explore different aspects of Pacific people navigating New Zealand society as well as life back in the islands.

Olivia Taouma of Little Island Press also worked as a Pacific programmer for Auckland Council.

She said she helped co-ordinate a series of workshops at libraries to help Pacific writers publish and access a wider audience.