Our Small World.

Hello, my name is Teresa leu.

I come from the small Island of Tokelau. When I was a teenager, I chose to expand my knowledge by moving between the countries of New Zealand, Australia, and Korea for over fifteen years getting the right experience and qualifications that were needed to help my people back home in Tokelau. I am also a nonsmoker and nondrinker and eventually became a (fakaofa) senior Police Officer and the first single mother with a beautiful adopted baby boy.

My main responsibilities as a Fakaofa (top police officer) are to provide the community with the sources and help they need and also keeping citizens of Tokelau out of our jails permanently. Aside from my full-time responsibilities I also have home responsibilities which is my adopted son, making sure that he is taken good care of 24/7. Therefore the values that help me achieve the responsibilities that are put in place is having huge respect for the community, self, and especially our eldest people of Tokelauan. Dedication is also another value that I live by because it helps me push to get work done and making little changes become big changes in the future.

One of the main reasons why I returned to Tokelau is because I owe it to the people that gave me the opportunity to go overseas and gain knowledge and experience. I was able to help the community and help my people defeat the challenges on the island. I got a job and became a (Fakaofa) top police officer but, the parliament didn't accept females doing males jobs, so they fired me, but I did not fight back or argue because I respected them. I had an airline and he helped convince the parliament to accept me as a police officer. Three days later I got the note to have the job back, so I happily accepted the position without disrespect. Once a month we do community visiting ( the whole village comes together) for the old age who are unable to see each other due to health issues or old age issues. Other times we give them Tokelauan traditional food, money, and palangi food (white people's food), this is so they can have a long life. Community visiting also includes dancing and singing to keep the community energetic and happy.

My future aspiration is for knowledgeable people to come back and help me and the community make Tokelau a better place for the upcoming generation of Tokelau. I hope that those who left would come back and keep Tokelau alive.