Stories From The Pacific

Jemmason Power has always been a career driven woman and this drive has certainly paid off. From being a pro-netball player, to working for modelling agencies, being a professional facilitator for her community and then landing a role in the television series, 'Black Snow', Jemmason is no stranger to hard work and success. But, at the peak of her career in the television and film industry some hard hitting conversations with her family and community encouraged her to reconsider what does 'the peak of life' really mean? Jemmason is discovering the answer through the many sacrifices made by the women who both raised and surround her today.

This edition of Stories from the Pacific was a repeat of the program broadcast on 31st May 2023 When Samoan-Tongan Thomas Fonua was 16, he had a life-changing decision to make. Either play for New Zealand’s under-19 rugby team, the first step towards becoming an All Black, or join Black Grace, New Zealand’s premier contemporary dance company. Thomas' dad warned him against choosing dance over rugby, fearing that people would judge him, but he chose not to take his dad’s advice and ended up touring the world as a professional dancer. Now, Thomas is better known for his drag queen persona, Kween Kong, a name that was earned on the rugby field. Fresh from tearing up the runway on the international smash-hit tv show Ru Paul’s Drag Race down under, Thomas Fonua aka Kween Kong joins Bobby Macumber on Stories from the Pacific to talk about following your dreams and carving new pathways.

Lydia Gah has always appreciated the power of education to influence change. This hunger for learning took her all the way through to university to study social work where she met her first husband. Lydia's story of her marriage with her first husband details twelve years of significant abuse. But this story is one she is using to educate others who may be experiencing something similar to have the courage to leave and to live a life that is thriving.

When Visila Koliqaqaru Lagilagi started boxing, she didn't know where it would take her. She just knew it made her feel strong. It's a strength that she has had to draw on many times, particularly five years ago, when a chance accident paralysed her husband. For them, their five children, and many women she has empowered through self-defence training, "boxing is life". Visila is the first woman to join the Federation of Boxing Fiji board and she's spending a lot of time outside of the ring these days as she cheers on the next generation of boxers, three of whom are her own children.

Jordan's been drawing since for as long as he can remember. He started by holding children's books up to the window and tracing around the images. It was then that he discovered that drawing offered him an alternate universe, in times when he needed to escape. Now in his mid-20s, Jordan is quickly becoming one of PNG's leading visual artists. This edition of Stories From The Pacific was a repeat of the program broadcast on 28th June 2023

Scott Waide never set out to be a journalist. In fact when he was leaving school he wanted to join the army and train as a pilot. But his mother said "no way" and some school counsellors set him on the path of becoming the storyteller he is today. Now he is known throughout Papua New Guinea for holding power to account, promoting media literacy and community-led journalism, and mentoring fellow journalists.

This edition of Stories from the Pacific was a repeat of the program broadcast on 7th June 2023 Finau grew up watching her brothers play soccer from the sidelines. When they were short on players, she got to join in. As an adult, she no longer had to wait her turn. Finau went on to represent Fiji in soccer, alongside her two brothers who played soccer and rugby for Fiji. They stood side by side at the Pacific Games. It was years later that Finau saw a female referee for the first time, not realising that this was a pathway she could choose. It wasn't long before Finau switched from being an international player to an international referee. She went on to officiate several international tournaments, culminating into the FIFA Women's World Cup. Now a retired referee, Finau is giving way to other female referees to follow in her footsteps. The proud mother joins Bobby Macumber on Stories from the Pacific to talk about the different opportunities that sport has given her.

Godfrey Jordan Abage was a grown man when he discovered the West New Ireland custom of shark calling in Kono village, Papua New Guinea. Shark calling has been practiced for thousands of years and Godfrey is one of the locals fighting to ensure that it will continue for generations to come. Right now, the shark population around Kono seems to be growing, but Godfrey and his fellow villagers are worried seabed mining will change that.

Empathy and social justice have come to define Jioji Ravulo's remarkable career as a social worker, actor and author — and the first Pasifika professor in Australia.

If there is a problem that needs fixing, mechatronics engineer and author Joyana Finch is your person. Her earliest childhood memories were of repairing broken gadgets in her parent's Cook Islands toy shop — technology always sparked joy. Now she writes children's books to show Pasifika girls like her own that the door is open.

If you catch Peia Patai on dry land, it won't be for long. When he's not out fishing, he's sailing his vaka across Cook Islands, with little more than the clouds, the sun, the moon, and the stars to help him find his way. The master navigator was taught the same techniques his ancestors used, but all that is changing.

Agapetos Aia-Fa'aleava has always been compelled to speak up against social injustice, and when she learned a law in Queensland had let pubs and clubs deny entry to Pasifika people with facial tattoos, she spoke up once again in the form of a documentary that explores culture and tattoos.

Fighting was considered shameful and something to be avoided on Nissan Island in Bougainville, where Agnes Titus is from. It's this ability to resolve conflicts that has held her in good stead throughout a career defending the rights of women and people accused of sorcery.

At fourteen, Gladys Habu was gifted a camera for acing her exams. She used it to document the disappearance of her grandparents' customary island, Kale, and unknowingly ignited a passion for climate activism. Since then, the former beauty queen, pharmacist, UN ambassador and young mother has worn many hats, always in a bid to improve lives and the land.

As a young girl, Mere Roden dreamed of becoming a doctor, using a pretend stethoscope to tend to her dolls. She wanted to help others. In 2006, after sepsis from an old injury deteriorated her nerves in her spine, Mere had to adjust to a new life that involved the use of a wheelchair. Since then, she has found new ways to help others, championing the rights of people with disabilities in sport and steering Fiji's response to COVID-19. In 2014 and in her 40s, Mere fell in love with table tennis. A year later, she was a gold medallist, and showed no signs of slowing down, going on to win gold in 2015, 2019 and 2023. The Fijian athlete, mother and grandmother joins Bobby Macumber to talk about importance of love, respect and never giving up.

This edition of Sista's Let's Talk was a repeat of the program broadcast on 23rd August 2023. Ann Singeo’s childhood was full of adventure. Each weekend, her dad would take her and her siblings to discover a new island – in Palau there were more than 500 to explore. They would camp, fish and learn about taking only what was needed from the land and sea. These trips formed the foundations for Ann to later co-found the Ebiil Society, a non-profit which aims to educate about environmental protection and proper management of natural resources through indigenous knowledge. Ebiil also runs camps for kids, taking them into the environment Ann loved so much as a child and putting them back in touch with the earth they will inherit, in the hopes they'll be inspired to better care for it.

When Tau'ili'ili Alpha Maiava plays the nose flute, he is transported back in time. He knows it is the same sound his ancestors heard 400 years ago. But this sound, along with many others, have almost been lost to history. Tau'ili'ili is travelling across the Pacific Islands to gather stories of extinct and endangered instruments like the nose flute. He hopes sharing this traditional knowledge will help people connect with who they were and who they are today.

This edition of Stories From The Pacific was a repeat of the program broadcast on 8th November 2023 Leki Lao started off his photography journey shooting weddings. But on the day of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano eruption, he found himself on board a navy boat travelling across obstructed seas to survey the damage. The photos he took that day of a very different kind, and they were among the first to emerge from the disaster.

Freediver and artist Rava Ray finds solace in the sea, swimming with stingrays and dancing with humpback whales in the depths of French Polynesia. So when it came to giving birth, Rava wanted the water nearby.

LLane Munau is a filmmaker from Bougainville. The Crisis began she was 10 years old and her father decided to move the family inland to escape the brunt of the violence. In the bush they spent about half of the decade-long civil war, which killed 20,000 people. And for a while, Llane was protected from the harsh realities of the conflict.