Brooms provide for Mele’s family

By Aruna Lolani 19 June 2017, 12:00AM

Of all the rights of women, the greatest one of them all is to be a mother and a wife.

That is something that Mele Tau’oa of Vaitele believes in.

Aged 43, a mother of three children spends her days walking around the Vaitele area selling brooms.

Mele had just sold two of her brooms when the Village Voice caught up with her.

“I’ve been doing this for a few weeks now,” she said to the Village Voice team.

“I’m doing this for the same reason why people work; to earn money.”

Mele said her husband was the breadwinner of her family but due to his injuries from a recent accident, he could not fish for a while.

“Our source of income was from my husband; he’s a fisherman.

“He used to sell  a bunch of fish for $25, so that was how we always make money. 

“Unfortunately he got hit by a car and it caused him serious injuries and that’s how this idea of selling brooms came to me because it’s something I always love doing but never got to sell it.

“It’s a really good idea to make money and eventhough it’s not much; I think it’s enough for food.”

Mele has 2 children in school whereas their eldest stays at her parents’ house to look after them and attend to their needs.

“Money is an issue to us but it’s not something that we should hate life for.

“It just motivates us to work hard for the things that we need and that’s a good thing because no one in this world deserves to get anything just like that.

“That’s why I’m doing my duty as a wife to stand up for my family because my husband is not doing well, that’s how it should be.

“You don’t have to give up because things are getting harder, that’s the time to work even more.”

By Aruna Lolani 19 June 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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