Elizabeth V. Kite shares her educational path and journey to founding Tonga’s only youth-led NGO, Tonga Youth Leaders. She is now embarking on two new initiatives: Oceanic Leaders Alliance and Pacific Lead.

Tell us about your background and where you grew up.

My upbringing was not typical. Because of my father’s work, I had the privilege of experiencing life in many countries during my formative years. I was born in New Zealand, my family moved to London when I was young, I completed my primary school in Tonga, and then completed my high school in Australia.

I’m grateful for this atypical upbringing, since it has allowed me to experience different worlds and ways of living. It has also brought me a great appreciation for life in Tonga.

One of my greatest privileges has been to create networks in Australia and the UK with my fluency of the English language. I know that my parents sacrificed a lot for me to get educated abroad most of my life. But between all those travels, Tonga has always been home. I’m grateful to have never lost that connection.

Can you share your educational path?

My parents always instilled the importance of education. Before University, my father passed away. This event really affected me, my thoughts on schooling, and pushed me to redefine my passions. At the age of 17, I deferred my schooling at University and told my mom that I would try working in the fashion industry for one year.

During that time, I had the opportunity to work for magazines like Marie Claire and Grazia and international brands too. Looking back, I feel that this direction was a way for me to escape the pressures that I felt my family had on me. I’m grateful for that real-world experience, because it helped me clarify my desire to help my people. Fast-forward to today, I haven’t returned to my studies, because of the real-world opportunities that have presented themselves to me over that past years.

I’ve always had the intention of returning to complete my tertiary studies, but once I launched Tonga Youth Leaders (TYL), I had to prioritize this work first. This year, we’ve entered our third year at TYL, and I feel that I’m better placed the return to my studies which I’m excited to be doing. I’ve gained a lot of experience over the years across different fields of work, and so I feel confident now going back and with a different but even clearer purpose.

You are now the founder of Tonga Youth Leaders. What was your journey to launching an NGO?

From 2012-2016, I volunteered for several Tongan NGOs, which would change my perspective on helping others. While volunteering, I came across so many young people who were brimming with ideas to improve their community, but their ideas were often ignored, disregarded, and not taken seriously. I remember also experiencing this demoralizing lack of validation.

In 2016, I had a life-changing opportunity. I was nominated to the Queen’s Young Leaders Program. At first, I didn’t feel worthy of accepting the nomination and felt there were so many other people who deserved it more than me. However, I remember my mom telling me: If an opportunity comes to you, it is not your place to say no. You need to take it, but it is your responsibility to help others with it.

I promised myself that after participating in the program, I would do something to share the knowledge I gained, and give back. When I participated in the program, I saw first hand the potential and abilities of younger generations when they come together. I was blown away by how articulate, passionate, and driven these people were. I wanted to take that framework back home. After completing the 1 year leadership class in Cambridge through the Queen’s Young Leaders Program, in 2017, I established Tonga Youth Leaders (TYL), Tonga’s only national youth-led organization.

TYL’s mission has always been to educate and empower young people to lead and be catalysts of positive change. Over the past years, we’ve developed a T.V. programme and leadership programs that have inspired people to return to their tertiary studies. It has been a beautiful journey so far.

You are now working on two new initiatives. What are Oceanic Leaders Alliance and Pacific Lead?

Tonga Youth Leaders is at an exciting transition period. We are pivoting to become Oceanic Leaders Alliance. Over the past few years, we’ve been contacted by many neighboring islands to build the same sorts of leadership resources. We want to spread our knowledge, tools, and programs regionally through Oceanic Leaders Alliance.

I’m also launching Pacific Lead, a news and media agency focused on climate change from the Pacific lens. It’s so important, because climate change is the largest global issue, and the Pacific has a lot of value to offer on how we can combat it, because we are at the forefront of tackling it.

What advice do you have for aspiring Pacific leaders in the community building field?

• Always stay true to your values, and no matter the opportunity, always be grateful and humble.

• Helping people is no easy feat. No one should come into this field thinking it will be easy. 90% is hard, but it is so very worth it.

• Listen to the people you serve. I’ve seen too many people with good intentions try to solve problems with great theoretical knowledge from their studies but with no practical knowledge. If you’re looking to solve a problem, the solution lies within those affected. Listen and talk to them.