Meleane Lolohea Pau'uvale (born ) is a

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

n educator, language activist, and community leader in New Zealand. After arriving in New Zealand from Tonga in the 1990s, Pau'uvale identified a lack of resources for Tongan cultural and linguistic education among the community there. Her efforts to bridge this gap were recognised in 2023 when she was named an Honorary Officer of the

New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

Biography

Meleane Pau'uvale was born in Ha'akio Tukulalo Olo'ua in the Tongan district of Vava'u around 1949. She married Siosifa Pau'uvale, a fellow educator, with whom she had four children. For three decades, she taught in high schools run by the

Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga The Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga (FWCT; Tongan: ''Siasi Uēsiliana Tau‘atāina ‘o Tonga'') is a Methodist denomination in Tonga. It is the largest Christian denomination in the nation and is often mistaken to be its state church. It has it ...

. In the 1990s, she moved to New Zealand, where she realised there was a need for education focused on

Tongan language Tongan (English pronunciation: or ; ') is an Austronesian language of the Polynesian branch native to the island nation of Tonga. It has around 187,000 speakers. It uses the word order verb–subject–object. Related languages Tongan is one ...

and culture for the Tongan community there. She became known for her work on early childhood education and language advocacy. In 1999, Pau'uvale founded the Akoteu Kato Kakala Early Childhood Education Centre in her garage in

Māngere Māngere () or Mangere is one of the largest suburbs in Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau City Centre and 15 kilometres south of ...

, outside

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. She eventually secured official recognition and funding for the centre, which is now based in

Ōtara Ōtara is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand (formerly Manukau City), situated 18 kilometres to the southeast of the Auckland CBD. Ōtara lies near the head of the Tamaki River (actually an arm of the Hauraki Gulf), which extends south tow ...

. She continues to lead the school and serve as its head teacher Pau'uvale has also been a leader in efforts to support the Tongan community across New Zealand, including through establishing the Alaha Manongi educational service, organising Tongan Language Week, and designing the Kato Kakala health framework for Tongan families. She helped publish three Tongan-language books of poetry and short stores, and the centre has also produced digital tools for Tongan cultural education. In the 2023 King's Birthday and Coronation Honours, Pau'uvale was appointed an Honorary

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to the Tongan community and education.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pau'uvale, Meleane 1940s births Living people Year of birth uncertain People from Vavaʻu Tongan emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand educators 21st-century Tongan women Language activists Honorary Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit