No social welfare benefits and inability to pay school fees have forced a woman to use her children to sell items at a busy supermarket.

Lisa (not her real name) is a mother of five and lives in Faleatiu. The husband was recently sentenced to jail and this has aggravated her situation.

"I have five children and my eldest child is now at Tutuila with my brother and the other four are still with me" said Lisa.

"All of my children stay at home because we do not earn enough to send them to school. We cannot afford school fees and then there are bus fares."

She has not finished school and is unaware if there is any help available from the government. The inability to garner school fees has led to her children not going to school.

She believes that her children should help her sell items outside the supermarket. To her, there is nothing wrong with this practice.

"It came to my mind that we should do something in order to find some money so I can buy things they want. Each day selling is different. Sometimes we make $20, sometimes higher but the cost of food and other items mean that we are unable to save much. 

"I need to fund my baby's necessities and purchase food for our table."

Things have not been easy since her husband was jailed. Her youngest child is seven months old. She can be seen holding the infant and supervising her other children to sell things. Things they buy from a shop not far away and then resell it to customers of the supermarket.

Lisa is also unaware that children can be exploited by others and easily be lured into criminal activity. 

She said she has not been able to ask for help from her husband's family and she has not approached the district council. 

A report by the US State Department said that in 2022, Samoa made moderate advancements in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. In partnership with the International Labor Organisation, the government conducted a Rapid Assessment Survey of Child Vendors, finding a 27 per cent increase compared to the same study conducted in 2015.

It also provided information on its labour law and criminal law enforcement efforts, including the number of labour inspectors, for the first time for inclusion in this report. However, although research is limited, there is evidence that children in Samoa are subjected to the worst forms of child labour, including in the production and trafficking of drugs.

Children also engage in dangerous tasks in street work, including begging and vending. Samoa lacks laws that prohibit using, procuring, or offering children for illicit activities, including the production and trafficking of drugs. Furthermore, as the minimum age for work of 15 is lower than the compulsory education age of 16, children in Samoa may be encouraged to leave school before the completion of compulsory education.