My name is Paea ‘I Vaiola Vanila and I am 22 years old. I come from Ha’asini but currently live at Vaini. My father is Seleola Vanila and my mother is Mele Vanila. I am one of the volunteer for the Just Play Programme, which I have been doing for two years now.
I started working for the program in 2021 and missed out 2022. This year I reunite again with the program to assist with the roll out of a new curriculum of the program in Tonga known as the Gender Equality. It was Just Play Master Instructor, Lafaele Moala that introduced me to this program and encouraged me to return to support the new curriculum.
I felt overwhelmed with this new theme because I grew up as a boy who loves girly stuff and act as a girl. Gender equality is one of the topics I am happy that football is promoting to children to develop their knowledge and understanding the significance of equal opportunity.
“When I was participating in the Gender Equality training, Lafaele Moala asked me a question about what would I prefer to identify myself as? He or She? I felt happy about that question because it seemed to be an opportunity for me show them who I want to be and gave me the freedom to be who I want to be,” she said.
“I believe this program is an opportunity for me to expose to children the significance for boys, girls and transgender people to have equal opportunities in sport or anything”.
Apart from working as a volunteer I only stay home with my parents and help them. I am blessed to have grown up in a family and environment who loved me for who I am and who I am wanting to be. I am just happy that my father and brothers accept me as who I am, as a transgender person because they know for sure I can be very helpful to my mother at home.
“I am grateful I get to live in a good environment in which I have never experienced any criticism or being bullied even though I am a transgender. I have a transgender friend who experienced bullying and criticism but as a good friend, I always encouraged her not to care about it but to live her life to the fullest and just be happy”.
This sport for development program helps a lot in teaching the program participants to respect each other and this program encourage children to understand that everyone has the right to live and be surrounded by an environment that promotes equal opportunity.
“There are two messages from the program in particular that I like which is “RESPECTING OUR DIFFERENCES” and “WE ARE ONE”. These two message can be helpful to everyone in respecting one another no matter what type of gender identity. Importantly, it is to understand that we are all one. Either you are a boy, girl or a transgender person but we are all one and we should be experiencing respectful manners”.
I hope that there will come a time where teenagers, youth and people will respect transgender people because we are all human. I am just thankful to be part of the Just Play program as an opportunity for me to share to children and the public that everyone is to be treated respectfully and equally.
