Results for Tongans Overseas

Sacramento county resident Kali Kanongata’a (36) has captured international media attention after he video-recorded his partner giving birth to their son and live streamed it on Facebook. The video has since gone viral and has attracted over 273,000 views on Facebook. The video is not graphic as Kali films the upper body of his wife throughout the delivery.

New Zealand born actor Joe Naufahu made his acting debut for the popular HBO TV series, Game of Thrones. Naufahu featured in the first episode of season 6 of the series which was played last week. He acts as “Khal Moro” a ruthless warlord of a warrior tribe known as the “Dothraki”.

A combined student body of Tongan Teritiary Students' Associations in New Zealand is holding its first leadership programme this weekend with the sponsorship of the University of Otago, Dunedin. “I think this is a great opportunity to empower the future leaders of our Tongan community,” said student president Mary Jane Kivalu.

A Tongan-American boy scout, Lehi Tonga Jnr (16) has won recognition after he built ‘buddy benches’ for a local elementary school in his small town of Hollys Grove in North Carolina to help tackle school bullying.

Shaken by the proximity of Tuesday’s terror attacks in Brussels, a Tongan family who live in the city say they are trying to go on with their normal activities and are thankful to be all okay. “We use the Maelbeek metro station where the explosions happened...all the time," said Haati and Josephine Sanft.

A financial incentive may be offered to Tongans and others on Auckland’s State Housing waiting list to relocate to regional areas of New Zealand, the Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett has said this month. The proposal has been criticised by Jenny Salesa, MP for Manukau East, who says that Ms Bennett was targeting Pacific people in South Auckland.

Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, has recruited Tongan born Kelaokalani (Kalani) Sitake as head coach for their college gridiron football team, the BYU Cougars, who play in the highest level of college football in the United States.

Tongan, Laumanu Mafi was named the winner of the First Overall Pacific Business Student of the Year Award along with Chris Carrington who won the First Maori Prize, at the University of Auckland, recently.

Tongans from Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra came together for an inaugural regional church service of the Siasi Konisitutone Tau‘ataina ‘o Tonga in Canberra on Sunday April 12. Photos by Lui Tonga