Selling luau and taros for a living

By Deidre Fanene 20 March 2017, 12:00AM

Meet Leaso Mose 55-year-old from the village of Vaoala.

When Village Voice caught up with her, she was selling taros and luau at the Fugalei market yesterday morning.

Ms. Mose told the Village Voice her small business has helped developed her family in so many ways.

“I started this small business of mine in 1984 when I had just two children and now I have six children and it’s still going strong,” she said.

“This business has helped put my kids through school and now they have grown and they have families of their own and I am still doing what I do best.

“Not only that, but it also helped with church and village commitments.

“I believe this is why God has helped my business because He knows this is the only way we can earn money to do things for the church as well as the village.”

Ms. Mose said from 1984 she managed to get the okay from owners of big businesses like Samoa Stationery and Books, Amau Supermarket, a Chinese owned shop at Vaimea and the Fugalei Market.

“I know this business of mine is not a big one but with God’s help he was able to allow me and my children to get the space from some of the big businesses in Samoa free of charge to use their shops to sell our products,” she said.

“It’s such a blessing when I think back when this first started because there were a lot of difficulties from the beginning.

“But after years and years of sweat and hard work I can see that is our way of earning money to help my family because my husband has gone to be with the Lord and so it’s just me and my kids.

“Especially too nowadays life is so expensive and not only that it is so hard to find jobs and when you do find a job you don’t get to hold onto some money throughout the week you have to wait until its pay day.

“But with this small business we never go hungry. There’s not a single day that we don’t have money and it’s all from just selling taros and luau.”

Moreover the 55 year old mother told the Village Voice that her small business has also helped build a stable house for her and her family.

“We use to live in a small faleo’o but now we live in a well-built house so those are some of the things that this business has blessed us with. I know that it was through God that this has grown,” she said.

“Life is tough but we ought to look into something that we know will help us in the long run and not only that we have to pray about it because God will use the little things to remind us that no matter how hard life is, He is always here to help us get through.”

By Deidre Fanene 20 March 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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