Father struggles to get by

By Nefertiti Matatia 17 January 2018, 12:00AM

Not having enough money is an issue most families in Samoa face today. 

And Sani Howard, from Nu’u, is not spared from such misery. 

The father of two shared with the Village Voice team that while he faces water and electricity problems, the $30 he makes from his small business is not enough to support his children’s education.

“My wife takes our kids to school,” he said. 

“My eldest is in Year 2 and my youngest son is in Year 1. In the next two weeks, school will begin and once again we will have to look for money to take care of them,” the 39-year-old said. 

Mr. Howard adds the land they relocated too does not have water and electricity supply.

He says they have been living in their new half-built home on a quarter-acre land for six months without water and electricity. 

Mr. Howard continuously searches for help and he is desperate to have water connection. 

“I make homemade hot dogs and sell it in town.” 

“So every day I make about 60 hot dogs and I sell it for $2.50, but my customers usually complain with the price so I drop it down to $2.00 and the sales I earn at the end of the day would be only $150.” 

“Then I use that money to buy goods to make hot dogs for the next day and I also have a loan to pay, after all of that has been cleared away, I will be left with only $30 to spend on my family which is not enough.”

He works to look for his children’s school fees, their uniforms and stationeries.

As a parent, he said, we must always meet our children’s demands.

“My children’s welfare is the reason I am working. There is no better way for me to give them a better life than to put them in school and push them on the right track.”  

By Nefertiti Matatia 17 January 2018, 12:00AM

Trending Stories

Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>