Malo e lelei, my name is Isabella Taliauli and on Friday 28th April, Ioana Leaana, Safu Naikau, Tiana Poliko, Meena Ram-Nath and myself attended the induction day.

Tula’i is a Pacific youth values-based leadership program. It is a 10 week programme, where participants will strengthen their knowledge of leadership values, protocols, and confidence in who they are as a Pacific person. It empowers Pacific youth to be the best that they can be.

It was an interesting experience, where we were able to connect with Pasifika students from other schools, such as Kelston Boys, Henderson High, and St Dominic’s. As part of this leadership programme, we learned about identity and we were treated to special performances throughout the day. During the session we had a special guest, HolyBoyDom, who discussed his identity and how his music connected with his identity. After Dom talked about his identity, we all divided into groups and explored our identities with group leaders. During our conversation, we discussed what makes us identify with, whether it is being the oldest child, ethnicity, or being a leader. We even considered how it affects us with our intentions and why we do it to keep going even if we choose to do it for others or ourselves.

When it came to the breaks it was pretty cool to hang out and play games with the other schools. It was great to get members of the group leaders to join in on the games. It was also great to feel welcome and to be encouraged to join and to feel comfortable sharing our thoughts on the day with everyone.
I would like to thank Mr Talamaivao for taking us out to the day.
Malo Aupito
Isabella Taliauli 12CH