The 1960s saw a number of changes in the Catholic Church in Kiribati. When I first arrived, the Mass was still said in Latin. With the death of Pope John XXIII and his successor, Paul VI, there followed a number of visible changes. The Mass was translated into English and the Kiribati languages and the priests started to say it in the vernacular. The Sisters’ habits also became simplified. We began to learn the hymns normally sung in Latin in the vernacular. This was Father Hirsch’s domain. He was very musical and fluent in the Kiribati language. He was a kindly person who was patient with us during choir practice.

I settled down in Taborio and began to enjoy school life. In August 1963 my father signed up for indenture on the phosphate mine on Nauru. In the few talks we had before I left, my father had said, ‘Alaima, when you have gone to school in Tarawa, I shall leave this job in the same year for Nauru. What I earn here is just enough for us here; but not enough for you in school and us here as well’. My father kept his word and I was not in any kind of need in school. I did very well in school and chose not to continue to do Forms 4 and 5 at the government secondary school in Bikenibeu. Instead, I went to the Tarawa Teachers’ College (TTC). When I was accepted, I had to make up my mind whether I would teach for the Catholic Mission or for the government. I decided to teach for the Catholic Mission.