2018 marks the 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage in New Zealand; on 19 September 1893, the Electoral Act (1893) was passed and women in New Zealand won the right to vote.
Anniversaries of this event are special opportunities to reflect on women’s leadership in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Petone Settlers Museum Te Whare Whakāro o Pito-one is proud to present Whakatū Wāhine – Women Here and Now as part of the 125th anniversary commemorations. We chose to showcase the contributions younger generations of women make to our communities’ health and vibrancy. To do this, we invited the public to nominate women aged 15 to 40 who demonstrate inspiring leadership in the Te Awakairangi Lower Hutt area to be featured in this display.
From a large group of nominations, our selection panel chose five women’s stories to share: Sharee Adam, Te Hau Winitana, Sithmi Sathruwani, Skye Chadwick and Sisi Tuala-Le’afa. These wāhine exemplify contemporary community leadership.
Whether their focus is on fostering cultural identity through language and dance, building resilient communities, or addressing diversity in a changing technological world, this new generation is leading community change we can all be proud of.
Sisi Tuala-Le’afa (Savai’i, Samoa)
Manager, EMPOWER – Empowering Māori and Pacific of Wainuiomata to Excel and Rise
“To be active citizens, we need to give everyone the tools to make these decisions.” – Sisi Tuala-Le’afa.
Sisi Tuala-Le’afa recognises the strength of group participation —“I’m big on groundswell,” she says. Through EMPOWER she provides a life-skills development course for Wainuiomata youth between the ages of 10 and 17 years. The programme takes place over weekends, and is based at Wainuiomata Marae.
EMPOWER was driven by a need to create positive change in the local youth population. Co-founder Kathleen Godinet-Samuelu had a vision for the programme and called a community meeting. Along with facilitator Jay Farris, Sisi had a key role in bringing the idea to life. The pilot programme with 28 young women ran from September 2017 to April 2018, with the young men’s programme beginning April 2018. The participants from the initial pilot are now preparing for their graduation dinner, and the leadership group of five seniors are embarking next on EMPOWER facilitation training.
In 2009, Sisi established a community garden in Wainuiomata to help support whānau with affordable fresh produce. The garden has continued to be used and developed, and Matariki 2018 marked the first harvest of kumara, planted by EMPOWER rangatahi (youth) and facilitators. Although they were told kumara was an unlikely crop to succeed there, the group are proud of their results.
Sisi is also an elected member of the Wainuiomata Community Board, and is an advocate for issues affecting her community. Whether she’s on the field supporting local women’s sport, or engaged with the EMPOWER rangatahi, you’ll witness Sisi uplifting and inspiring people with her work.
