Knowing her cancer was terminal, the eldest daughter of WOWS Kids co-founders Sina and Taholo Kami faced the final chapter of her life with a remarkable acceptance of death, telling her parents that dying would not be a failure but a victory.
Speaking on Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan, Tae’s mother, Sina Kami, recalls her daughter asking whether she would be okay when Tae died, sharing a question no parent would want to face but one that became part of the family’s journey of faith, love and acceptance.
Sina says she assured Tae that when God was ready to take her home, she would be okay because she believed God would take care of her daughter.
Insert:Taholo Kami shares how his daughter spoke about her own death 23rd Sept
Sina says Tae loved playing the guitar, reading and spending time with her sisters and friends, while one of her favourite songs was His Eye Is on the Sparrow.
She says Tae also prayed regularly, sometimes quietly and sometimes out loud, and would pray for people who came to visit her.
Tae also kept journals, which her father Taholo says documented the struggles she faced as a young teenager, including the difficulty of looking in the mirror as cancer affected her face.
Despite those struggles, Sina says Tae told students at Queensland College that although cancer had affected her face, her faith remained strong.
Taholo says Tae also found an outlet through music and began writing Walk On, Walk Strong after the family moved into their home.
He says Tae had written the first verse and chorus and would play the song for visitors, including musicians such as Randy Thaman and Gonai.
However, in January or February 2008, the family learned that Tae’s cancer was terminal after she developed a cough and scans revealed spots in her lungs.
Taholo says Tae cried on the way home from the clinic but later returned with plans for her funeral.
He says Tae asked her parents to finish the song with her, and together they wrote the second verse, reflecting her belief that death was not a failure but a victory.
He says Tae later told a Tongan musician that she believed God would create a ministry from her pain and that she accepted 15 years as the life God had given her.
