Tonga Language Week 2023
AUT Bachelor of Health Science (Nursing) student Kat Malama Aho was born in Tonga but raised in Auckland by their grandparents where Tongan was always spoken at home. To Kat, language is culture so “sustaining your language is sustaining your culture”.
In this video, Kat shares their inspiring story about why they chose to become a nurse and the importance of being able to speak Tongan with many of those they care for in their role as a nurse.
Kat says, “The reason I became a nurse is because when I was year 9, my grandfather had major surgery. I saw the awesome work the nurses had done and also sometimes I’d seen my grandparents not understanding what was going on. For me, I just wanted to be that nurse who could do something. And on top of that, being able to speak Tongan with your patients, you’re changing lives and communicating with your own people.”
Kat describes what it means for Tongan patients to have a bilingual nurse caring for them, especially if they don’t speak English. Kat can translate the medical details of what is happening so patients understand the health procedures involved in their conditions, listen to their concerns and answer any questions they may have. Kat understands how important it is that those patients have had someone to hear them out.
Listening to Kat’s story, it’s clear that their care and contribution to their people’s experience during their medical journeys is invaluable.
Uike Lea Faka-Tonga 2023 (Tonga Language Week) is the fifth instalment of the University’s Pacific language video series for 2023,
The theme for Uike Lea Faka-Tonga 2023 is 'E tu'uloa 'a e Lea faka-Tongá 'o ka lea'aki 'i 'api, siasí (lotú), mo e nofo-'a-kāingá, which means the Tongan Language will be sustainable if used at home, church and in the wider community.
The word TU’ULOA in the theme has a positive and progressive connotation and means to continuously grow, nurture, and sustain a valued idea, practice, event, or memory in an enduring way.
The theme for the Pacific Language Weeks 2023 is sustainability, and AUT’s videos are a celebration of the power of language and culture featuring our alumni who are sharing their experience and journey with sustaining language.
The videos feature a diverse range of alumni, from business leaders to educators, community leaders and more who are all passionate about sustaining languages for future generations.
Through their stories, it will be evident the many ways in which language is a vital component of cultural identity and the ways our alumni have implemented it into their daily lives.
Tongan greetings and other resources for Uike Lea Faka-Tonga 2023, including email signatures and printable posters, are available on the website of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples.
Mālō ‘aupito (thank you very much)!
Release dates
To watch each video in the 2023 AUT Pacific language video series as they are launched, follow the Pacific at AUT Facebook page or watch on YouTube.
- Rotuman Language Week: Sunday 7 May – Saturday 13 May
- Samoa Language Week: Sunday 28 May – Saturday 3 June 2023
- Kiribati Language Week: Sunday 9 July – Saturday 15 July 2023
- Cook Islands Language Week: Sunday 30 July – Saturday 5 August 2023
- Tonga Language Week: Sunday 3 September – Saturday 9 September 2023
- Tuvalu Language Week: Sunday 1 October – Saturday 7 October 2023
- Fijian Language Week: Sunday 8 October – Saturday 14 October 2023
- Niue Language Week: Sunday 15 October – Saturday 21 October 2023
- Tokelau Language Week: Sunday 22 October – Saturday 28 October 2023