With the slow passing of the Christmas season people tend to indulge in a state of relaxation before they begin to even think about going back to work.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case for everyone this Christmas holiday as some people are still working throughout the holiday.

Hospital workers, local shop owners, road workers, pilots, police officers, and many more, all fall under this category of holiday workers who work around the clock to better serve the people of Samoa.

Although their duties benefit our community immensely, they usually go unnoticed.

“I take great pride in my work and I’m happy to work during the Christmas holiday.”

That was according Aukuso Ie who works for Samoa Holiday.

Potholes are visible as far as the eye can see all thanks to the heavy rainfall that has been battering Samoa lately.

Mr. Ie is part of the road construction team that was requested by LTA to help fix the roads.

“As you are aware, it has been raining the past few days so the roads are really bad” he said.

“So that’s why our boss asked us to come and work and use this day to try and fix the roads.”

He said they were informed about their work on Tuesday just before Christmas, so they took a two day break, Sunday and Monday.

He added that this was not the only holiday he has missed out on.

“We even worked on white Sunday and various other holidays,” he said.

Even though they had to stand in the scorching sun for hours during a holiday, Mr. Ie said he had no resentment in doing their duty, only happiness because they understood the importance of their job.

“We are happy to do it,” he said.

“We understand that it is very important to fix our roads and we know the service we offer is very important.

“As you can see, we started in the morning and we are all happy to be serving our country.

“It’s always a good feeling helping out and serving our people and knowing that you can make a difference.”

“I know a lot of people don’t really care about the work that we do, but I like to think that our little work can help make transportation easier in Samoa.”

“Especially during this time because we have a lot of visitors from overseas, so it’s better help to have nice roads so they can go back and tell their friends the good stories about Samoa.”

“So to me honestly, I am happy that we are working today because as you can see, the roads have been damaged by the rains. Therefore, we are happy to provide for their families. this service for our people and country.” 

For Falaniko Apelu, of the company SWEL, an extra day of work is an extra day with food.

“Our boss told us to cut and clean the grounds on the side of the roads,” he said.

“I don’t mind working during the holiday. 

“Even though most of Samoa is on break, I’d rather work for a better life for my family”

“They deserve so much more so that’s why I’m here sweating in this heat”

Although working is a must for the workers of SWEL in Vaitele, Mr. Apelu continues to tell himself that this extra work will not only benefit Samoa, but it will benefit his family as well.

“I know others are spending times with their families and are resting right now but we are happy to provide this service as it will also benefit us as well,” he said.

“We will get paid and at least we will get some extra money for our families these holidays.

“So even though it may seem hard, but like I said, we are happy to do it.”