Maxine Valentine

“I am from the beautiful Island of Rotuma. I am 46 years old and I was the Senior Electronic Publisher at the Centre for Flexible Learning (CFL), USP. I was born on the Island of Rotuma and my family left the island when I was 9 years old. It has always been my dream to return to my Island some day. My trip to the Cook Islands brought back sweet memories of when I was growing up in Rotuma.

I was fortunate to participate in the digital storytelling workshop. I was very excited to tell my story and I learnt the skill of scriptwriting and the importance of good writing which makes a story real and powerful. The challenge I experienced is merging the sound effects with the video. I suppose time was a challenge for me as I would have loved to edit and make changes until I was satisfied with the final outcome.”

Memories of Rotuma

At first I’m reluctant to hop on to the motorbike without wearing a helmet, but I notice no one else had one so I go for it. The last time I rode a motorbike was in Rotuma, when I was only eight years old. I was holding on tight to my father’s waist – with a helmet on my head of course.

“I felt a sense of achievement in being able to create my very own digital story. I was excited during the screening as all our CFL staff were present. I was emotional because my story brought back memories of my late father and my childhood days spent on my island home. I was happy with my story. However, if time permitted, I would have liked to make a few edits. I enjoyed watching my other colleagues’ digital stories, we all did well for first timers…”