We were privilege to have Hon Aupito Tofae Su’a William Sio , Minister of Pacific Peoples and the Associate Minister of Justice visit our programme.
Minister Sio is a passionate advocate about the needs of Pacific people and has had a long association with Otara, having arrived in NZ from Samoa to live as a small child.
After a welcome by Sistema Aotearoa parent Peter Talamaivao, the Minster enjoyed watching the Kupe and Tiki orchestras rehearse and spent time speaking with staff and parents and finding out more about the programme.
The students were interested to learn that Minister Sio once played the violin as a child and that he was certain that, if his lessons then had been as much fun as he saw the Sistema Aotearoa classes were, he would still be playing today!
The Minister expressed how impressed he was with the concentration, playing standard and sheer hard work that he observed.
Sincere thanks to Aupito William Sio for taking time in his busy schedule to visit and for his commitment to ongoing support for Sistema Aotearoa.