I’m Kaloni from Tonga

From an interview by Amie Jane Leavitt

Mālō e lelei!*

Meet Kaloni from the Kingdom of Tonga. Her islands are known as the Friendly Islands.

Have you ever had a family picnic outside on Christmas Day? Kaloni’s family likes to picnic on the beach at Christmastime. Since it’s summertime in December in the southern hemisphere, picnics at Christmas are no problem! Ten-year-old Kaloni likes to spend many fun holidays with her aunts, uncles, and cousins.

I enjoy going to the beach with my family and playing in the sand and in the sea.

I like to dance, play sports, and paint. I helped make a mural about the plan of salvation for the seminary building.

On weekdays I get dressed in my school uniform. Then my family walks to school together. My dad works at the high school, and my mom is a seminary teacher. I have an older sister named Dorothy and an older brother named Nelson.

My mom and auntie decided to start a family project to earn money for all of us cousins to go on our missions someday. We make chicken kabobs and ’otai and sell them at the farmers’ market every Saturday.

I want to go to college and become a seminary teacher like my mom. I also want to go on a mission and marry in the temple. But in the meantime, I’ll just enjoy living in a beautiful island paradise.