For Valelia Futiala, and her family living in the village of Levi-Saleimoa, they may not have much but they have all they need to live a happy life.

Aged 51, Valelia is tasked with all the daily chores while her children attend school and her husband works to provide the family with.

The hardworking village mother says that her family’s general living standard is alright.

“To tell you the truth, my family only recently moved here,” Valelia told the Village Voice.

“We lived on the coastal area before and as we went along, there was no one living on this piece of land so we came here to be able to grow some crops for to take care of the family.

“We are doing alright with power and water and this is the house we have been using up until now. Maybe if our family overseas wants to help us with our house then they can.

“If not then it’s alright, everything is alright; we have enough food. We have bananas, Samoan taro and other different crops like pumpkins.”

Although Valelia and her family lives a happy life, she says that they only struggle when it comes to money.

“I guess the only thing we struggle with is money,” she said.

“We need money for a lot of things in life; we need it for village obligations, some things for the family and so on. The house we live in isn’t much but it’s still good.

“Money is also needed to take care of food for my husband and children. Other than that, everything is alright. Maybe one day we will get a new place to live in but everything is good here.”

Asked what everyday life is like for her, Valelia says she does everything at home while she awaits her family’s return.

“My husband goes to work inland to try and get some money,” she said.

“For me, my duty lies with everyday chores. As you can see, once I finish cleaning the road then I will come back to look for other chores.

“I also prepare the food for the children who are going to school and then make their way back. I do all the chores of the day and my heart and mind is always in the right place. “I do my chores with a lot of joy. I try not to rely on anyone else to come and help me; my children come from school then they are the ones who help me out with my chores.

“When night comes, then that’s the only time I rest from the daily chores.”

Valelia says that her husband’s pay is sometimes not enough to cover all the family’s needs which is why she tries to help out by earning a little something extra with her crops.

“We try not to rely wholly on my husband’s job,” she said.

“That’s because we understand that there is not enough money. So I grow some crops such as pumpkins and cucumbers.

“When my children come they put some (crops) into the wheelbarrow and then deliver it. The only time we do that is when we struggle with money for our children’s school expenses and things for the family.”