Stories From The Pacific Radio Australia

Jasmine Stole Weiss' early-journalism career found her in a crime reporting job which saw her reporting daily on the worst days of peoples lives. It took the pause of the global pandemic to allow Jasmine to reflect on where she saw wanted to take her skills as a storyteller. So, she left the newsroom and began publishing wholesome and positive feature stories in her own newsletter with a sole focus on platforming her own Micronesian community. 

Jemmason Power has always been a career driven woman and this drive has certainly paid off. From being a pro-netball player, to working for modelling agencies, being a professional facilitator for her community and then landing a role in the television series, 'Black Snow', Jemmason is no stranger to hard work and success. 

But, at the peak of her career in the television and film industry some hard hitting conversations with her family and community encouraged her to reconsider what does 'the peak of life' really mean? Jemmason is discovering the answer through the many sacrifices made by the women who both raised and surround her today.

This edition of Stories from the Pacific was a repeat of the program broadcast on 31st May 2023

When Samoan-Tongan Thomas Fonua was 16, he had a life-changing decision to make.

Either play for New Zealand’s under-19 rugby team, the first step towards becoming an All Black, or join Black Grace, New Zealand’s premier contemporary dance company.

Thomas' dad warned him against choosing dance over rugby, fearing that people would judge him, but he chose not to take his dad’s advice and ended up touring the world as a professional dancer.

Now, Thomas is better known for his drag queen persona, Kween Kong, a name that was earned on the rugby field.

Fresh from tearing up the runway on the international smash-hit tv show Ru Paul’s Drag Race down under, Thomas Fonua aka Kween Kong joins Bobby Macumber on Stories from the Pacific to talk about following your dreams and carving new pathways.

Lydia Gah has always appreciated the power of education to influence change. This hunger for learning took her all the way through to university to study social work where she met her first husband. Lydia's story of her marriage with her first husband details twelve years of significant abuse. But this story is one she is using to educate others who may be experiencing something similar to have the courage to leave and to live a life that is thriving. 

When Visila Koliqaqaru Lagilagi started boxing, she didn't know where it would take her. She just knew it made her feel strong.

It's a strength that she has had to draw on many times, particularly five years ago, when a chance accident paralysed her husband.

For them, their five children, and many women she has empowered through self-defence training, "boxing is life".

Visila is the first woman to join the Federation of Boxing Fiji board and she's spending a lot of time outside of the ring these days as she cheers on the next generation of boxers, three of whom are her own children.

Jordan's been drawing since for as long as he can remember.

He started by holding children's books up to the window and tracing around the images.

It was then that he discovered that drawing offered him an alternate universe, in times when he needed to escape.

Now in his mid-20s, Jordan is quickly becoming one of PNG's leading visual artists.

This edition of Stories From The Pacific was a repeat of the program broadcast on 28th June 2023