Mrs Meleane Pau’uvale, of Auckland, ONZM (Honorary) for services to the Tongan community and education
Meleane Pau’uvale co-founded Akoteu Kato Kakala (AKK) after noticing young Tongan children were having difficulty with their education. AKK was transformed from a playgroup into an Early Childhood Education centre, where she was head teacher for many years. She has run regular fono and wellbeing workshops for parents, guardians and teachers. She has helped publish three books of stories and poems in Tongan for children. She influenced the build of Alaha Manongi, a home-based education service, and has committed resources for children to the Tongan Relief Fund amidst the Tongan tsunami event. She helped organise Tongan Language week festivities. She has collaborated with Pacific health providers to ensure wellbeing and education around family health. Mrs Pau’uvale runs programmes for children in schools, encouraging students to pursue careers as teachers.