Stories written by two Vanuatu youths have been published in the book ‘Children of the 12 Tribes’.
Jay Peter Sumu and Stacey Kelvin won first prize in their categories after participating in a Storytelling Competition that took place across Oceania.
The competition was launched to celebrate the International Year of Indigenous Language through the Diversity Network Australia (DNA) to encourage elders, children and young people to share their stories, poems, songs, language and art with the world.
Sumu wrote about the wellbeing of Vanuatu youth while Kelvin shared her thoughts about her sense of purpose and a poem about belonging and village life.
Australian-Fijian Nurse and Author, Bernie Goulding is the writer of the ‘Children of the 12 Tribes’ book.
DNA sells Indigenous items, art and books to raise funds.
The first book to be sold through DNA, ‘The Children of the 12 tribes,’ is a collection of Indigenous stories and art from Timor-Leste, Fiji, Vanuatu, PNG, West Papua, Tokelau, Niue, Tonga, the Cook Islands and Samoa together with contributions from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
The stories promote cultural understanding, connection and wellbeing.