Sange Malama-Tuisaula

Sange Malama-Tuisaula attended Timaru Girls’ High School from 1994 to 1999. A proud Timaru local of Tongan and Tokelauan heritage, Sange came to TGHS after attending Timaru Main School and Watlington School.

At school, Sange loved choir because it brought together a cross-section of students from different year levels, interests and personalities. One of her favourite memories was learning a South African song with her music teacher, Mrs Strating, and travelling to competitions with the choir. Music was also a place where Sange found confidence. During her time at TGHS, she won a singing cup with a Tracy Chapman song.

Sange remembers her teachers as encouraging, especially Mr Gin, Mrs Fleming and Mrs Crawford. She also remembers being one of a small number of Tongan students at TGHS at the time. Looking back, she says she did not always visualise her own potential, partly because there were not many people like her in the spaces she might have looked to for inspiration.

As the eldest of six siblings, Sange carried responsibility at home as well as at school. She describes herself as feeling like “mum number two”, helping support her family while navigating her own teenage years. Her parents’ values stayed with her: work hard, look after the wellbeing of the family and the collective, and make the most of every opportunity.

After leaving school, Sange worked in factory and processing roles, including at Sanford, Alliance, Smithfield and Pareora Silver Fern Farms. Sange also worked on a fishing trawler for 7 years. Those early working years taught her practical skills, confidence and resilience. She says she learnt “to make the most of opportunities that came her way”.

Over time, Sange grew into community advocacy, education support and whānau-centred work. She has worked alongside schools, families and community organisations, helping people feel connected, confident and able to take part. She is passionate about school spaces because she knows how much it matters for young people to see their culture, families and stories recognised.

Sange helped co-found Aoraki Pasifika and has supported the growth of the Aoraki Moana Festival, a celebration of Pasifika culture, performance, food, family and community in South Canterbury. For Sange, celebrating culture is not only about performance. It is about belonging.

She hopes young Pasifika girls in Timaru feel proud that their families chose to make Timaru home. When Sange was at school, Pasifika heritage was not often visibly celebrated. The Pasifika population was small, and people could feel shy about standing out. That is one reason she now encourages cultural celebration at home, at school and across the wider community.

Sange has also stepped into civic leadership, putting her hand up to stand for Timaru District Council and later being selected as a parliamentary candidate for Rangitata. For her, standing was about being at the decision-making table as someone who understood what was happening on the ground and could bring a community voice into those spaces.

“If we don’t go into the spaces we don’t see ourselves in, then when will we?” she says.

When asked what advice she would give her younger self, Sange says she would tell herself to try harder, apply herself and give things a go even when they feel scary. She has also learnt not to be limited by fear of judgement: “Other people’s opinions are none of our business.”

Sange’s story is one of courage, service and belonging. From TGHS choir rooms and non-uniform days to community festivals, school support work and public leadership, she has carried with her a belief that everyone deserves to feel seen, valued and able to contribute.