Pasifika Futures (PFL) recently supported the Trust at the 2024 Pasifika Festival. This initiative was significant as it incentivised members of the community to showcase their talents, engaged youth and encouraged them to take pride in their cultural heritage, enabled the community to exhibit their performing arts to share with the public and provided an avenue to maintain and safeguard the communities cultural heritage and identities in different contexts of life. 

Alamai Sioni, Project Coordinator, shares about the Trust and its vision. 

"The Vaitupu Community Trust was formed by members of the diaspora who wanted to continue practicing the traditions from home. They sought to preserve their identities, as people naturally connect deeply with their communities. 

"The Trust is centered around keeping the community united. We hold monthly meetings and have established a structured network that includes youth and women’s groups, all working together. The larger vision is to preserve the Tuvaluan identity, ensuring that young people learn and uphold the traditions from home, while also promoting respect for elders," she adds.  

The strong ties within the Tuvaluan community, facilitated by the Trust, have served as a lifeline for some of its members, especially during difficult times.  

In celebration of Tuvalu Language Week, Ms Sioni shared her personal connection to this year’s theme, 'Uphold your language and dialect, for it is your identity.'  Ms. Sioni shares the importance of holding on to her identity while living in New Zealand. 

"I was born and raised in Kiribati. Outside the home, we spoke Kiribatese, but within our household, we always used our own dialect, Tuvaluan. We continue to emphasise this at home, encouraging our children to preserve our dialect because it is a vital part of our identity. It defines who we are, and we are committed to keeping it alive."