Celebrating Tuvalu Language Week

The theme this year is ‘Fakatumau kae fakaakoi tau ‘gana ke mautu a iloga o ‘ta tua’ which means ‘preserve and embrace your language to safeguard our heritage identities’. 

Tuvalu is a small island nation in the South Pacific, with an population of approximately 11,417. According to the 2018 Census, just over 4,600 Tuvaluans live in New Zealand, with an estimated 3,000 of those able to speak their language. 

We talked to Alisa Kokea Logo, Pacific Navigator Nurse at Tū Ora Compass Health. 

Alisa was born in Tuvalu, where she sat New Zealand School Certificate at secondary school. She migrated to New Zealand in 2007. Her first job here was as a caregiver, which inspired her to become a qualified nurse. 

“I did a yearlong course at Whitireia in 2009 and graduated with a Certificate in Nursing. 

I was encouraged by one of my tutors at Whitireia to do the three-year long Batchelor in Nursing Pacific programme. I graduated in 2014 and worked as an Aged Care nurse for three years. I applied to the role as Pacific Navigator Nurse at Tū Ora Compass Health in 2017 and have worked here since” 

We spoke to Alisa about the importance of Tuvalu Language Week and her culture. 

How important is it to celebrate Tuvalu Language Week? 

“It is very important to celebrate because my kids and the young generation of Tuvaluans who were born and brought up here in New Zealand are losing their own language, which is their culture and identity.” 

How do you embrace your culture and language? 

“Through speaking and understanding the language. 

We also embrace our culture by dancing our traditional dances called ‘FATELE’ and siva, using our songs and understanding our traditional story telling through using these songs and dances. 

Also key is understanding the uniqueness of our culture through our elders.  Respecting our elders is one aspect of our culture that we grew up with that is also very important. 

And of course we celebrate our culture through knowing how to cook our own traditional food.” 

How do you embrace Tuvaluan culture in the Wellington region? 

“I am involved in the local Tuvalu community, we always come together and celebrate the language week every year. There are two Tuvaluan churches in Wellington and I belong to one of them where the service is done in Tuvaluan.” 

How does speaking the Tuvalu language help in the health sector? 

“I’m the only Tuvaluan Nurse in the whole of Wellington who can speak the language fluently. It helps our Tuvaluans who struggle with the English language, let alone the medical language, to fully understand and to make informed decision about their health.” 

Is there something that you would like to see changed for your people in the health system? 

“It’d be great to have more resources translated into the Tuvaluan language to help our people understand what is happening to them and help them make their decisions” 

Do you have any Interesting facts about Tuvalu that you’d like to share? 

“Tuvalu is the world’s third smallest sovereign nation. 

It’s one of the world’s lowest elevated countries, which means it’s under severe threat from rising sea levels caused by climate change. 

There are no ATM’s or credit/debit card payments in the whole country. 

There’s no standing army.”