Making a living with what you have

By Aruna Lolani 09 June 2017, 12:00AM

You have two hands; one to help yourself and one to help your family. 

So says Paulo Matagi from the village of Faleula.

Speaking to the Village Voice, Paulo said he’s blessed to work and help his family at the same time.

“I run a small delivery business to retail shops,” he tells the Village Voice.

“I deliver home-made cakes, fruits and crops from my plantation to shops here in my area and some shops in Apia.

“This is my own business but my other brothers work for different companies.

Paulo stays with his brothers. Unlike his brothers, Paulo is still a single man.

“I’m not ready to have a family of my own yet but I love the idea of having something to do to help out the family I have right now. 

“I need to develop what I have first and make more money out of it.

“I do deliveries on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays so on the days that I’m not delivering, I come here to the plantation or our land here to collect whatever I can find that I think is good enough to sell off to people.

“That is why you caught me here collecting lemons, because I use these to put a little bit of flavor into the cakes I make.

“I’m proud of what I’m doing for a living.

 “Most important thing in this world is to have something that you can do to help yourself, help your family and other people as well.”

The 30 year old said he values the lands that his family has because it’s what his parents left them

“I don’t know why people have a hard time working the lands.

“For me, it’s not hard if you put your mind into what you’re doing.

“It’s all about how you make use of what you already have and how you use that to contribute to your community.”

By Aruna Lolani 09 June 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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