These are the words of Marcel Teraimana Tua who's lived most of his life in Mauke, where many of his family still live. At the time he sent me these photos, he was studying in New Zealand and aiming to use his studies to help his fellow islanders. All of the pictures on this page are his and I'm grateful for his permission to share them with you. Not only are they superb photographs, they also capture the beauty and essense of the Cook Islands people - something I fell in love with on my first visit to the islands.