Laziness will not cut it

By Fetalai Tuilulu’u 23 April 2017, 12:00AM

We hear over and over again that the people of Samoa can live freely on land.

But it’s easier said than putting it into action. 

For Nive Afele, from the village of Faleula, her family relies solely on root crops and to be able to survive everyday. 

 Part of the problem for Nive is not having money. 

“Right now I believe that life has become very expensive,” she told the Village Voice.

“The little we make within our family is not enough for everything we need. It’s just too expensive to purchase goods from shops.” 

“We have no one currently employed in my family; we live here with my siblings and their children and we share the same water pipes and electricity.”. 

Even with fertile soil, having no money is an obstacle for many families. 

“The few cents we share between our families can’t buy anything and most days we can’t do much because we don’t have much,” Nive said. 

“We have food sometimes but never money.”

But what is the everyday life like for Nive? 

“On a day to day basis I do normal chores, I cook crops from our small plantation, and mostly sell them and so on,” she said. 

“Even though I have many kids to take care of plus the chores, there is no room for laziness in the house.” 

“When my chores are done I have to find other ways to help my family.” 

“Our one and only source of food is from our plantation. We try and stay positive about it because at least we have root crops to give us the strength we need.” 

“I believe in the love of Jesus and that he will provide every day.”

“We plant what we can plant but we don’t grow enough to sell, we use it all for consumption and we can’t afford items from the shop.” 

All in all, the mother went on to say life is getting harder each day. 

“Of course life everyday is a struggle but the fact is we can’t do anything about it, it’s just the way it is.” 

By Fetalai Tuilulu’u 23 April 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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