Every family goes through their own sets of problems but Merita Vainiu, from the village of Nono’a, Saleimoa, believes that you can overcome anything if work hard to do so.

She admits that life is very tough these days but it’ll only get worse if you do nothing about it; even if it’s dealing with the high cost of living by working hard in the plantation.

Aged 36, Merita says that life is alright but it’s only because her family tackles issues head on as soon as they come up.

“For my family, everything is alright,” she told the Village Voice.

“We try our best everyday to deal with any issue that comes our way. There are times we have very serious issues within our family but no matter what, our family will always find a way to deal with it.”

“That how it is for us, we deal with our own issues.”

Merita says that growing up, life was great in the village but as she grew up and responsibility became a must, that is when she realized that the village life is not all that glamorous.

“I admit that yes, life is very tough,” she said.

“When I was younger and single, life was a lot simpler but now as I get older, I understand how tough life can be. It’s not tough for just my family; every village family goes through the same issues every now and then.”

“But if a family stands together then they can deal with almost anything they go through.”

An example of an issue that a lot of villagers deal with is the high cost of living. Merita says that through her plantation, she is able to deal with that issue.

In fact, the hard working mother says that she prefers living off of her plantation because you can earn a lot more than employed workers do through their jobs.

“Right now the issue that everyone is dealing with is the high cost of living,” Merita said.

“Things bought from the store are starting to get really unaffordable and people are trying to find ways to make money. But it’s not easy to make a lot of money in Samoa, especially in the villages.”

“Right now my family is trying to earn as much as we can through our taro plantation. To tell you the truth, I would rather live off of a plantation than be employed.”

“I believe we can earn a lot more through our plantation than at jobs and another benefit is that we can eat what we grow so no extra costs goes to store-bought goods.”

But all in all, Merita says that life is great and everything is doable with the right attitude.

“Other than that, everything is great,” she said.

“We have water and it’s metered so we have to really know how to ration out the water and not let it go to waste. If we get our bill and over $200 then I can always visit the market with some of my crops to pay it off.”

“I can happily say that my plantation is what provides a lot for my family. It’s a lot of work but it’s the only way we can earn money.”