Families need to work together

By Deidre Tautua-Fanene 24 September 2017, 12:00AM

Love and respect is the foundation of a happy family. That is the strong belief of Vaoto Talalelei of Lotopa. 

The Village Voice caught up with Mr. Talalelei when he was on his way to pick up his children from school. “The number one rule in my family is that me and my wife we work together,” he said.

“We do everything and make all our decisions together,” he said. According to Talalelei, in his family there is no “me”. 

“Me and my wife we have equal rights in all that we do within our family but that doesn’t mean my wife will forget about what the bible says that the ‘father is the head of the family.”

“That is the motto of my family.” He also noted that one thing for sure is that a man can never do a woman’s job or vice versa. 

 “But not on my family, I help out my wife in any way I can whether it’s doing the washing, taking the kids to school or cooking…..but I don’t usually take the cooking part because I am not really good at it,” he chuckled. 

Mr. Talalelei is a builder and he makes wooden furniture and sells them to earn a living.

“It is a God given talent that helped develop my family,” he told the village voice.

“Every week I get like two-three orders of furniture from people and I work on those orders to ensure that I maintain my clients.”

“It’s good money for an unemployed person like me.”

“I earn $2,000 or even more a week that is like a three week salary for some office people I know.”

“That money helps with my family especially my children.”

“I never worry about their education because my God given talent is what’s keeping them in school and paying for all their tuition and there is always some left to take of my family and save some of it as well for the long run.”

“Life is a struggle but we have to have to stand up on our own two feet to take care of our families.”

“We cannot rely on others we have to be independent and it’s a good lesson for our children as well to never rely on anyone when they grow up and make sure they prioritise their education because this is the key to a bright future not only for them but for their family as well.”

By Deidre Tautua-Fanene 24 September 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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