Munivai Taukave Aisake was the oldest of the 16, born in Fapufa, Rotuma. She departed the island at age 13 after obtaining a scholarship that provided a one-way trip off the island, determined to be the first Rotuman woman to continue onto higher education on mainland Fiji. After completing college, she became the first Rotuman woman to join the commonwealth army and explored the world, concluding her travels in London, England.

 

She met Alan John Brooks, a young English man of Russian-Polish descent, at the British Library where they both worked, and they married in 1974 and had 4 children: Emma, Laura, Tessa & David. Munivai passed away in 1993 after an adventurous and full life. In 1992 she returned home to Fapufa to see her parents, new siblings and her homeland for the first time in 39 years.

Alan still lives in the family home he and Munivai created for their children, in East London; Emma, Tessa & David live nearby and Laura lives in Kenya. The family welcomed Jaqueline Askew, Alan's partner, into the family with open arms. She has 2 children of her own - Roger and Emma, and a granddaughter, Amy who all live in England.