The unsung heroes of the household

By Vatapuia Maiava 11 January 2017, 12:00AM

When you get home after a long day of work and see the house is clean, the clothes are washed and neatly folded, than that’s that.

No second thought goes to it; it’s common to assume the house and clothes just cleaned themselves.

Often overlooked and given no credit for their hard work, those who stay home like La’i Saua, from the village of Leusoali’i.

She is among the unsung heroes of the household.

“The only thing I have always loved about chores is that it does bring families together,” she told the Village Voice.

“It doesn’t matter what it is, you will see a family working together to get it done. What you see here is what I am used to doing every day.”

“Samoan mothers who stay at home are often seen doing many different tasks at one time. Just like myself, I do all these many tasks because I am the mother of the house.”

“I wash the clothes, clean the kitchen, clean the house, and I do many, many other chores.”

La’i is adamant that staying at home to do chores is a lot harder than what most people think.

“Sometimes I think to myself, many people overlook the hard work we mothers do,” she said.

“It’s so easy for those who are employed to just come home and tell us women that they want their clothes to be washed; it’s easier said than done.”

“If you think about what we do at home, I’m sure we do more than what workers do at work. My family is very small but I have to try and do as much as I can every day.”

Starting the chores early in the morning and only finishing up when everyone finally goes to sleep at night, fatigue definitely takes it’s affect from time to time.

“I wake up early in the morning, and then I go straight to work on my chores,” La’i said.

“After I am done with my house then I go and do some work for my family’s other house. That’s just a small look into my life.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t struggle with these chores because thankfully, my mother has been teaching me how these chores are done ever since I was young.”

“One thing I always try and do is to do everything with a smile on my face because it hides the pain in my body with all the chores.”

And even when she’s asleep, La’i explains that all she can think about is the chores the next day.

“There are times when I sleep and all I can think of are the chores I have to do,” she said.

“I don’t mind that we don’t have a washing machine, I was taught to do everything by hand. That’s the way we do things here in Samoa.”

“The Lord blessed us with these hands so I will make them work for me for as long as possible.”

By Vatapuia Maiava 11 January 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>