Good roads are essential in order to develop the lives of Samoan people and the country as a whole. 

Unfortunately, this is not the case for the village of Musumusu, Fagaloa. 

According to Perenise Titi, a village member, the poor road condition affects their daily travel. 

He says there are no buses servicing their area because of the road condition. 

“That’s the ongoing problem that our village has been facing hundreds of years ago, and until now there are no buses for Musumusu because of the bad road,” the 40-year-old father of two told the Village Voice team yesterday.

 “The road is nowhere near any condition for vehicles to drive through from Monday to Sunday, and if you do, then you’ll have  to dodge potholes.

“That’s why many families use their own cars or vehicles from neighbouring villages to get to town or other places.

“Buses turn back after Lona and Ta’elefaga and they never come here at Musumusu, and I understand because of the damaged roads and that will cost bus owners.”

Perenise said some farmers hardly take their taro and other crops to Apia because of the cost of transport.

“The thing is it’s cheap to transport taro by bus because it costs us less.

“But when you think of using someone’s car, then that’s a burden to farmers because almost all of the money you receive from selling goes straight to pay for the car.

“But many of us prefer Apia to sell taro, ta’amu and other crops because the sale is very fast,” he said. 

Aside from this, Perenise said “life in our village is great”.

“The only issue for many of us is money and I think we know this, but food is everywhere.”

Another aspect of living in the village he admires is the strong cultural values and practices that exist in the village. 

“You have your own roles and responsibilities and we depend so much on the land to provide for us.

“We have guidelines here in the village to control village members. 

“In my honest opinion, living in the village is a good way to maintain our culture and heritage.

“I am used to the lifestyle here in the village, and aside from many problems that we face every day, life is easy in the village,” he added.