In about a fortnight, on the first of June, Samoa will celebrate its 60th anniversary of independence.
But the full story of this Pacific country's challenging self-determination journey is not one that has been made easily accessible to Samoan children in Samoa and around the world, until now.
Samoan educator and award winning author Dahlia Malaeulu over the weekend released Granpa's Siapo, a Pasifika children's picture book which highlights Sāmoa's historical ties with New Zealand, the impact of colonization and which aims to promotes cultural understanding for those who are not aware of Sāmoa's independence struggle.
Dahlia joins me now, Talofa lava great to have you back on Pacific Waves, now this is quite unique isn't it, we have a lot of books dedicated to Pacific history but not so many directly tailored for our children?
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Members of the Samoan Police Force preparing to raise the national flag at Independence Day celebrations in Apia. Photo: RNZ / Jane Patterson