Palolomua held it's second reunion yesterday at the Human Rights Protection Party headquarters at Sogi.

The reunion included members of the Palolomua online group who were also invited to participate. 

The reunion was led by Australian-based Nese Uelese and included members from around the world. 

They promoted and exchanged Samoan culture, traditions, Samoan history and life experiences.

“Palolomua is about our past and about how our parents and ancestors used to do all these hard work for our children,” Mr. Uelese said.

Mr. Uelese is the founder of the Palolomua Facebook page and he said the page is a “home for the hopeless” as he had saved a lot of young people who had lost faith in themselves.

Niniva Tikeri, a 20-year-old from Neiafu and Vaitele does not go to work or school and she shared her story with the Samoa Observer. 

“I learned about Palolomua from a friend and I never thought that being a member would help me showcase a difference.

“I had always been disobedient and wasted my youth on non-vital things, but when I started spending my time on reading about life experiences in this group, I realized there is more to it than just being a useless youth,” she said.

Other than that, Mr. Uelese said that Palolomua is also about learning about the basics of Samoan heritage.

“Where do all the Muagagana and Alaga’upu come from?”

“That’s where we come in. We provide non-fiction stories about Samoa,” he said.

Palolomua is an online group comprising different writers contributing stories about culture and life experiences in Samoa.

Fiailoa Filipo, a team leader for Samoa and American Samoa members from Faleasiu, said it is a wonderful experience and she feels great knowing that she does something good to preserve the culture and her people.

“It’s from my own will that I want to help my friend Nese to gather our people to see that there is so much to do about life and not about giving up and even our culture.

“We write stories about our culture and language to promote the value of it all,” she added. 

Mr. Uelese confirmed that they will also be developing their stories through documentaries and films as a new strategy.

The reunion was for three days and Mr. Uelese said the reunion will be held every year and he encouraged the Samoans to be part of Palolomua to learn more about life and culture.