They say love conquers everything, even the darkest of time. 

This is no different from the love Lio Leipa from Le’auva’a, shows towards his family. 

Despite the struggles and obstacles life throws at him, his love is what drives him to continue providing for his family. 

And there is no doubting his love because at the age of 65, Lio still works at one of his family’s vegetable garden at Faleula to sustain his family’s needs. 

He believes “that sacrificing for your family and children is the way to get through any hurdles in this life”. 

“The one reason I keep on working is because...I love my family and also I’m trying to stay healthy all the times,” the hardworking father told the Village Voice team yesterday.

“To be honest, this is me, no matter how old I am, tired most of the times, I always want to provide and contribute to my family. 

“The cost of living is skyrocketing and if you just sit around and do nothing you’ll end up nowhere.”

Lio has six grown up children.

“They have their own families and that means they contribute to our daily needs, no matter how little they get, they make sure to put it for our family,” says Lio.

“So they help our family in so many ways.”

Lio considers his contribution to his family an act of fatherly love.

He explained that what’s he’s doing now “is all about love”. 

“I believe having a loving family is one of the most important things in life,” Lio said. 

“Every single day, when I wake up, I sometimes stop to think about how lucky I am to get to wake up and see my family every single day.

“Love is the best thing to have in life, whether you’re a father or whatever position you hold, you’ve got to have that love in your heart to keep you going every single day.

“If you don’t have it (love) you just can’t carry on and perform your duties to the best you can.

“If you don’t have any love in your heart, then you won’t be able to achieve anything good to take care of your family.”  

Without love in his heart, Lio said he would have quitted long time ago.

“I know family is a gift from God and that’s why I’m pushing myself to work every day and am happy with what I’m doing.

Lio added his family was his life and strength. 

“No matter how tired and sick I am most of the times, my children and my family give me strength to keep on going. 

“Without them, I would be nothing, my life would be miserable.”