Serving Samoa with humility and protecting the most vulnerable is the vision that has inspired a career of nearly 37 years in the Police force for Superintendent Faagoto Patu.

Reflecting on her career during an interview with the Samoa Observer, Superintendent Patu said she is blessed and grateful.

“Being a Police woman was my first job and it has been my passion since then,” she said. “I love what I do, and it’s why I am still at it every day.”

The 62-year-old Superintendent Patu is a graduate of Leulumoega Fou College and also the American Samoa Community College. She hails from the village of Vaiala.

Being a Police woman is both challenging and rewarding.

One of those challenges is Samoa being a small country.

“We have to make sure we do what we do everyday with love and honesty and not to get biased when it comes to family members that are charged," she said.

"This job I have to make sure I still do my work even when we come across people we know, and sometimes they are our family members. You always have to make sure you perform your duties with honesty as I swore to uphold in my oath.”

The mother and grand mother has also seen the world through her beloved job.

The Superintendent has been on two peacekeeping missions, first in 2010 in East Timor and in 2012 to South Sudan.

"The times I've spent in those countries, it's an experience I will never forget as a mother looking at many children living in poverty, it breaks my heart," she said.

"Those missions made me realise that I am so lucky to be a Samoan, a country that is peaceful and rich in terms of produce and food we get from our lands.”

She has also been the recipient of capacity building training in Australia and New Zealand, as well as in Samoa.

Still her passion for her work is strong.

“It’s a calling,” she said. “And I encourage other women to join and see for themselves.”