Mafutaga’s greatest gift is his family

By Aruna Lolani 06 July 2017, 12:00AM

This is Mafutaga Iloa from Tufulele and Fasito’o.

He is a 34 year old farmer who has made the decision to put his family before anything else.

Speaking to the Village Voice yesterday, Mafutaga said one needs to know how to love to prioritize the people in their family.

“I always live by that saying; that family is a gift that lasts forever,” he says to the Village Voice.

“And that’s why I can never take my family for granted.

“Whatever I do; I do it all for them.”

Mafutaga has been a farmer all his life and he’s learned the skills from his own family.

“Most of us nowadays, when your parents tell you to get taros, taamu, you know, they run to the shops or the market to buy it.

“If you have a plantation, then why do you feel the need to use money when you can just work your hands to fetch a few taros? 

“I mean I know a lot of people look down on us farmers but what you don’t know is that this is our best, this is what we are doing to take care of our families.

“When you’re in the rural villages, you see how well people live.

“Despite the old traditions and the way of living that the villages here still prioritize you see the more important things out of that.  You see respect, personal boundaries, happiness and all because every village encourages their own people to have that spirit of ‘tausi-aiga’.

“And with that, it has stuck with me ever since and now I’m making a choice to live a life where part of it is to serve my family.

“Family is a gift from God and no one should ever forget that.”

By Aruna Lolani 06 July 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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