Teuluaki Fialiki McQuarrie, is inspired each day by one of her favourite sayings from her home country of Tuvalu.
“Fano ki mua, sa puli tou iloga” which means, “we should always aim to thrive and not forget our roots”.
“I personally like this saying because I have seen a huge change in our Tuvaluan people,” says Teuluaki.
“A number of us have migrated here to Aotearoa due to the recent effects of climate change and the desire for a better future for our children. This saying reminds us to always hold on to our heritage and culture.”
Teuluaki moved to New Zealand from Tuvalu in 1997 for her husband’s job and settled here with her four children. She found work as a practice nurse within the community and spent some time working for The Fono, a Pacific medical health provider in Auckland and a Pasifika Futures partner.
“It was hard to leave my beautiful island of Tuvalu, but I had to think about my husband and the future of our family.”
Teuluaki believes that her strongest connection to her home country is maintaining the Tuvalu language not just for her but for her children and wider Tuvaluan community. Tuvalu Language Week is a great reminder for her family and the Pacific community that Tuvalu has its own unique heritage and language that must be preserved and shared.
Just as her home nation faces the frontline effects of global warming with rising sea levels, Teuluaki says the language will also be lost if it is not cherished and used widely.
She is committed to speaking her language as often as she can, whether she is at home, out in the community or in her role as a nurse, she uses her language to connect with other Tuvaluans to build that relationship and also keep her culture front of mind.
“I speak Tuvalu about 98 percent of the time and I hardly speak English. It’s something that we have to teach our children and remind them that our language is what makes us unique.
They go to school to study and to learn different subjects. Knowing and learning our own language is just as important. It should be part of our everyday lives, inside our family, our community and our church.”
#pmafamily
Date: Tuesday 29 September 2020