The smile on Mona Misiluki’s face says it all.

The 25-year-old from Tokelau and Alafua is happy regardless of the circumstances.

He cleans and maintains the land next to U.S.P Alafua. 

The single male hopes to one day raise his own family.

In the meantime, he lives with friends on a rented property.

Mona said he earns more than $400 in two weeks and the money goes towards the rent and his food.

Mona believes life is simple if you work hard every day.

“For me life is simple because we’re boys so there’s no need to make things much harder,” he told the Village Voice.

The cost of living is cheap, he said.

“We budget our money very well. We mostly spend money on water and electricity bills and the house.

Mona said his goal is to have a house of his own.

“We spend a lot of money on renting the house. So my goal is to have my own home.”

Living in Apia is far different from Tokelau. 

“In Samoa we have everything but our people are too weak to work.”

Life changes and challenges do happen for a reason but he believes we all learn from our experiences.

“Luckily our people have a plantation to lean on compared to other countries in the world who are suffering from the lack of food.

 “Samoa is a great country if people do work together.”