Many hands make light work

By Sarafina Sanerivi 25 November 2016, 12:00AM

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 

The thought was echoed by Fa’i Lemalu from the village of Falelauniu-uta when he was approached by the Village Voice yesterday.

Fa’i was spotted working on his plantation yesterday while also working on cleaning up the rubbish on the side of the road. 

The 40-year-old was not happy that people were throwing rubbish on the side of their road as if it was a waste land. 

“I am very disappointed at the people who have been doing this,” said Fa’i.

“My house is far from the main road, it is located at the back of my plantation. But when I came to do some work at my plantation, I saw that people have been using this area as an area for dumping rubbish. 

“And as you can see, I am trying to clean it up because it’s not  nice to look at and also it affects the health of the people living in this area.”

Moreover, Fa’i said it has started to smell because of the rubbish being dumped there. 

“The smell is starting to fade away now that we had burnt some of the rubbish and cleared most of it.  “Some families who are also living around this area have complained about this, but we can’t do much about it because people keep dumping rubbish here. 

“But I think that if we all work together, then it wouldn’t happen.

“I don’t understand why it’s hard for these people to take their rubbish to Tafa’igata or use the rubbish bins on the side of the roads.”

Nevertheless, he believes that keeping Samoa clean and healthy is a load that we all share. 

“To me, when I saw this, I was very disappointed. 

“This is because there are other people who are trying to do good things to maintain the cleanliness of our country and to our environment, but we also have people who just don’t care and think that it’s okay for them to just throw their rubbish here. 

“Therefore, we should make an effort to clean and clear this area, but if those people won’t stop, then we will still have this problem.”

He is also concerned about the health of the young ones living in this area.

“The smell from the rubbish can affect the health of the people especially the children living in this area. 

“And I believe that if we don’t act on it now and do something about it, this will become a norm for them to throw their rubbish anywhere they want without thinking about the welfare of the people living in this area.”

Fa’i also wants to encourage everyone to work together to make is easier for everyone. 

“And it’s not just this area. We’ve seen it all around town and other places in Samoa as well. “People throw their rubbish anywhere they want.

“We need to work together to maintain our beautiful and healthy environment not only for us but also for our future generation. 

“Because what we do now can affect the future of our children. And that is something we have to think about. 

“If our children grow up to see this kind of behaviour, they will also do the same. But if we show them the right way that working together makes everything easy, they will also grow up to be very helpful people in the future.”

By Sarafina Sanerivi 25 November 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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