In many families, when things go wrong, we can always trust the mother to have a solution. With that, they help keep families together.

Indeed, they are the pillars that hold up a family, they are the glue that binds everyone together; they are everything to both the husband and the children. Rona Vaifa’ae’e, from the village of Tuana’i, believes the roles of mothers are ever changing, depending on where they are needed.

 “The most important thing for a mother to know in the village is her identity,” she told the Village Voice.

“You need to know who you are deep inside and what your duty is to your church, village and family. You need to know what to do in order to provide for your family.”

“A mother’s duty is to prepare well so that we can give our husband and children a joyful and happy life. You also have to help out your elderly.”

Aged 46, Rona says that a mother must always be ready to serve those they love.

“You have to push to be known as a woman that serves her family well,” she said.

“Most importantly, no matter what people say about you, you must work hard so that deep inside you know you have served your duties with excellence.”

According to Rona, she defines mothers as being the right hand to everything in life; may it be with the church, village or a family.

“Mothers are the right hands of the village, families and church,” she said.

“If there isn’t a mother inside these areas then everything falls apart; there isn’t any order. Even when it comes to the fathers, their minds aren’t straight without the mothers.”

“We are the glue of a family; we hold everything together. If a mother were to be alone then they can handle themselves; but a father won’t be able to control the family.”

“When a wife passes away the husband would find another spouse very fast but if a husband passes away, the wife will only marry again after a long time. That’s the difference.”

Rona  is just thankful for the Lords blessing on the mothers of Samoa, especially in the area of control which she says is lacking in the fathers.

“The Lord has blessed women with control,” she said.

“That’s why we are able to do anything with greatness and we can do so on our own. The only problem with a lot of the mothers in Samoa is that they don’t know their duty and their worth.”

“They need to be taught so that they can understand what they need to do in a family. If mothers don’t understand their duty and worth then they will turn out lazy with low self-esteem.”

“That’s why mothers come together as a council a lot in the village, it’s because we need to teach one another about how important we are.”