In May this year data released by the Samoa Bureau of Statistics (SBS) indicated that over 24,000 people were employed in Samoa’s formal sector.

The statistics on Samoa’s labour market came courtesy of a SBS report on the March 2022 Quarter with the details reported in an article (24,000 employed with $142 million in wages: report) in the 23 May 2022 edition of this newspaper.

According to the article, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted a broad range of sectors and since the country’s first community case was reported on 17 March 2022, there have been job losses and layoffs.

So we are not surprised with revelations by the non-government organisation Samoa Victim Support Group (SVSG) that an increasing number of unemployed men are calling to seek welfare support for their children.

The article (More fathers calling for child support) in the Monday 26 September 2022 edition of the Samoa Observer reported that in July and August this year, the case management statistics of the SVSG showed an increase in men calling their helpline number to ask for food and education-fee support for their children.

“Through the support of development partners, SVSG was able to respond to the different calls through welfare supplies,” said the humanitarian organisation.

“The SVSG village representatives on the other hand, have been fundraising through BBQs sold in front of the Vodafone Matafele Office, to put some of these children back to school.”

The SVSG said the men who called were unemployed at that time due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Therefore, how many more fathers are out there without a job and a salary that previously enabled them to put food on the table for their families and pay for essential expenses such as school fees for their children?

It is in fact reassuring to know that a non-government organisation has a mechanism in place for families to access, which enables them to reach out to seek assistance in their times of hardship. Just like women and children victims of violence, the helpline offered by the SVSG yet again confirms its value at the community level.

But how sure are we that the statistics that the SVSG makes reference to and responds to with timely assistance are not representative of more families in our rural communities in Samoa experiencing similar challenges?

We commend development partners who’ve continued their programmes of funding support for the SVSG and other local partners working in this same space. Their support, on top of budgetary support from the Samoa Government, has enabled these non-government organisations to respond to the challenges facing families. 

However, there is no guarantee that we haven’t “left anyone behind”, to borrow the Sustainable Development Goals’ core messaging, which a lot of us in Samoa have become familiar with in recent years.

So what more can be done to compliment the work of the SVSG and other local partners working in this same space or are we satisfied with the mechanisms that are currently in place and consider them adequate?

It would be good to hear from the Ministry of Women Community and Social Development, on how their partnerships with village councils and non-government organisations are and should be a safety net for vulnerable families.

While the Ministry has a mandate “to lead and facilitate community development”, we note the emphasis on securing partnerships with women committees, village councils and community facilitators on programs and awareness on domestic violence.

But how effective can these partnerships be at the community level when one’s home is not in order with the father of the house jobless and unable to feed his children and the children facing an uncertain future due to unpaid school fees?

We continue to be reminded of a famous quote by the 28th U.S. President Woodrow Wilson (December 1856–February 1924): “No man can worship God or love his neighbour on an empty stomach.”

No doubt, assisting to put food on the table and paying off a family’s children’s school fees, is likely to boost efforts towards getting a husband and a father to subscribe to and embrace anti-violence values for the benefit of his children.

With the new Government now looking to District Councils as the vehicle to drive development at the community level, it is critical for the constituencies to work in tandem with the village councils and the various committees, and be in a position to identify and reach out to families that are doing it tough due to the pandemic.