Siva Afi assists church fundraiser

By Fuimaono Lumepa Hald 16 January 2022, 12:23AM

Dancers from Siva Afi Entertainment on Saturday stepped forward to assist a radiothon that was raising funds to rebuild a church that got burnt down in Savai’i last week.

The Siva Afi Entertainment owner, Leota Lene, told the Samoa Observer that their support of the fundraising drive for the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa’s Patamea church confirms them standing in solidarity with the youth of the affected community.

“Siva Afi Entertainment is happy to support the Patamea E.F.K.S. church through its show, as a sign of solidarity with the youth of Patamea,” he said.

“To let them know that we feel for their loss, to give them hope and encourage them to think about the value in promoting and preserving Samoan performing arts. 

“You never know, a future fire knife champion might come from Patamea.”

Leota has always been an advocate of youth development, especially young boys who are vulnerable to abuse and drug affiliated crimes, due to their potential exposure to peer pressure.

A lot of the young performers he recruited were previously street vendors selling goods for their families. The overall goal is to develop the artistic skills of the young performers in order for them to be able to compete abroad, where they later settle with their families.

A Samoan siva afi competitor who currently resides in Hong Kong, Masoe Hogan Toomalatai, has told this newspaper that participating in siva afi competitions opened doors to other opportunities.

“The opportunity to represent my family and where I am from, the opportunity to work alongside great talents that make both onstage and backstage work flawless, and most of all the opportunity to open up the world into siva afi,” he said. “It speaks of a tradition and hope for my people back home.”

Ultimately, Masoe said the dream is to open the door for fire-knife dancers from Samoa and other Pacific countries.

“The dream is to open up doors for fire-knife dancers from Samoa and the Pacific islanders to showcase their culture and talents to the whole world,” he said. 

By Fuimaono Lumepa Hald 16 January 2022, 12:23AM
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