Living an honest life through crop sales

By Sarafina Sanerivi 08 January 2017, 12:00AM

When it comes to life, Sefo Filipo, from the village of Tuana’i, goes by only two rules. 

Work hard and maintain a relationship with the Lord.

He explains that if you follow those two things then you will live a good life no matter what.

Sefo sells everything he grows at a roadside stall which he says gets him enough money to provide for everything his family needs.

“As I live in Samoa, I make sure I live the most honest life possible,” he told the Village Voice.

“I do my best in whatever I do for the sake of my family, especially the children. You know, I strongly believe that the reason people suffer in Samoa is because they are lazy.

“People who say that there’s poverty in Samoa are wrong, there is no such thing as poverty in this nation.”

“Just look around you, the Lord has blessed us with all this great land for us to cultivate. We can grow koko, Samoan taro, bananas and many other crops.”

“I do all the work myself; that’s because I would rather get money my own way than rely on any other person to take care of my family.”

Sefo says that there’s no point in relying on others when you have the strength to do everything yourself.

“I know so many people, who live their lives and rely on others,” he said.

“That’s not me, I don’t want to be the kind of person who always goes to his sister or brother and ask for help all the time; I have the strength in my body so might as well use it.”

“That’s why I say I want to live an honest life.”

Asked about selling by the roadside compared to at a market place, he says he prefers the roadside much more.

“I have been selling at this little market stall for a while now,” he said.

“But I don’t own the stall, whoever wants to sell here can come and do so but we have to pay the owner $5 a day to rent and sell here.”

“It’s all part of a system here and I love it. I can earn quite a bit especially during the holiday season so I don’t see why many people won’t do the same; just look at all the money I can make.”

And with the money he makes from selling his crops, Sefo says it has done wonders for his family.

“I don’t know where my family would be without this market stall,” he said.

“The money I make has helped so much in terms of taking care of my family. Everything I have in front here will be sold by the end of the day.”

“The money I make here has given us a decent house and it has put all the children through school. I can make over $100 a day from this.”

“Another thing that helps quite a bit is your faith in the Lord. Just pray every day to thank him for what you gotten that day and you will be blessed.”

“I prefer selling on the side of the road because if I take everything to town then there’s an additional cost because we have to pay a car to take everything.”

By Sarafina Sanerivi 08 January 2017, 12:00AM

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