One way to avoid becoming a vendor is to devote yourself to developing your family. 

Enough with the roaming around and causing problems but you need to be someone to whom your parents and families will turn to for help.

This is the view of Tahiti Paeali’i of Talimatau

Aged 23, he is a young man who challenges the youth to be like him. 

“To tell you the truth, we do need help,” he told Village Voice yesterday. 

“But I don’t want to ask anyone else to help us out; I want to do it myself. 

“We don’t have any electricity at home but we can survive with candles. 

“As long as we have food then we don’t have to worry about anything else. 

Tahiti says his family is very important to him.

“We are just developing. My mom left us for heaven in 2000 and it’s just me my two brothers and my dad at home. 

“It’s a good thing I had a job to turn to but even though I don’t make that much I still work at other things. 

“Life is hard and always will be, and I challenge myself just like the way I challenge the youth to put their families first. 

“If you don’t have a job, work at other things.”  

Tahiti says the plantation is helping him out. 

“If I don’t work and get no money I take some taro to sell for money. 

“I told myself if I don’t work hard enough, my family would starve to death. 

“I so don’t want to depend on anyone else for living, because I really don’t like the fact people that helped you will eventually be mocking you for being lazy and all that. 

“When my mother passed away, I started thinking maturely and I told myself that things would be difficult and if I didn’t have a job I don’t know who my family would turn to.”

Tahiti understands the cost of living is very high but he knows that the issue is not new, it has been high for ages and there is nothing we can do to change it. 

“Just get used to it and work to provide for your families,” he said. 

“As a 23 year old man, I challenge everyone to work hard and make sure families are our first priorities. 

“Just say “I can do this” and when you finally do it, you will be proud of yourself.”