Teariki Ringi

My mum, Daphne Ringi, told me the story of her dad, my grandpa, and how he saved one million dollars.  This story tells us how life is a big struggle, but we continue on.

MY GRANDFATHER

This story is about my grandfather Metuaiviivitoao Joseph Herman A.K.A Poe, his children, and how he managed to save one million dollars.

He was a hard worker and it was hard for him.  His first son was born in 1959.  He’d always like to work but he wasn’t allowed to until he was older.

Poe had nine more children in different years. When his children went to school, if they got homework, they would have had to do it during their break, because when they got home they went straight to their taro patch and worked there all the way to night at 10 pm.

On Saturdays they would go to the market and sell their food. They did this for years. Poe saved all his money that they got from the market. He was very happy and he and all his children lived a good life and loved god.

Finally, by 2007 he had saved one million dollars.  However, he passed away that same year.

 

The reason why I chose a bird is because we used to have a cage of birds, and I admired birds because they were able to fly.

The flower marking in the middle represents my mum, because it is the flower she use to wear and the others stand for members of my family. The two suns on the right wing represents my grandmother and my grandfather. The markings in the tail of the bird represents each of my siblings and my cousins.