“We wanted to make sure our children are surrounded with as much of the culture and heritage as possible,” he said.
A primary school teacher, Deborah had the structure and the idea of what she wanted to say to her children at bath time. She wrote the words in English, Oka translated them into Samoan, and then they asked friends to translate the story into Tongan.
They engaged Chad Robertson to illustrate the books.
“We were put in touch with Chad Robertson after an encouraging conversation with author David Riley at a book authors' convention.”
As far as her own grasp of the languages goes, “I've got the basics,” says Deborah.
There are some words the children only know in Samoan.
Oka shares an example of Deborah's parents not being sure what Aniva, 4, wanted when she first asked for an inu — drink, in Samoan.
So the language is filtering up through the generations, as well as down through them.
Oka says their book business is more like a social enterprise. They wanted to make it easier for parents to speak with their children in Pacific languages by providing them with these books as learning resources.
“(In Gisborne) there is a large Tongan community, a growing Fijian one and a steady Samoan community.”
Oka said his nieces and nephews were impressed when they heard Deborah giving an instruction to the children in Samoan, telling him, “Auntie Debs can speak Samoan”.
Deborah says Oka's family have created a safe space for her to learn their languages so it can be passed down to their children.
The children are also involved in the selling process.
Their eldest daughter Aniva, 4, wraps up the books, and they make a family trip to the Post Shop to send them off around New Zealand, Australia and the United States.
A recent order even included a handwritten note from Aniva.
The couple moved from Hamilton to Gisborne three-and-a-half years ago to be closer to family and the coast.
Deborah is a stay-at-home mum to their three children these days, while Oka is head of the Physiotherapy department at the hospital. He has a special interest in paediatrics.
Their combined cultures extend further than the books they have published.
Banana trees border the back of their section, taro are planted on another fenceline and the colour of hibiscus flowers brightens the yard.
Oka and a friend built a fale (Samoan house) in the backyard, using phoenix palm fronds harvested from Wainui and OK'd by Gisborne District Council.
Getting funding to complete the book project was “surprisingly hard”, said Oka. It took almost three years of not quite meeting the criteria in each grant application before they were finally funded through the Ministry for Pacific Peoples Languages Innovation Fund (LIF).
“We want it to be a series of books and the language structure to increase in complexity,” said Oka.
“We'd love for the books to be in early childcare centre and libraries,” said Deborah.
