Twenty tala goes a long way for mother and family

By Aruna Lolani 20 May 2017, 12:00AM

Meet Pilisita Asoiva.

The 44 year-old mother was breastfeeding her baby and resting on the side of the road after a long day of selling cucumbers when the Village Voice team caught up with her.

Pilisita together with her baby and young daughter had walked a long way from the inner lands of Faleasiu where their house is.

They had stopped to rest for a while.

“We went to sell our cucumbers in the inner village for some money to buy food,” he said.

“We went with four packages of cucumbers and we sold them all for $20. 

“We just really need money to buy some food for the children.”

Pilisita said they walked from home to the inner village and they’re walking back home because there are no buses  passing through the area.

“I know it’s far but we can’t do anything about the situation. We wanted the money so walking was the only option.”

Pilisita and her family live off the land; her husband mostly works on planting and growing the crops and vegetables.

She’s a mother to five children and she tries her best to sell whatever vegetables or crops they have to get money for food.

“It’s not easy to try and put food on the table every day and I don’t think anyone would want to eat the same thing over and over again.

“We might not have much but we try our best to make money sometimes so we can cook something different for our children.

“That’s why despite the long distance and the bad roads, we still try and thank God for today, because we’ve managed to sell off all our cucumber packages.

“We don’t get to eat meat every day but this $20 will buy us some for the weekend. It goes a long way.”

By Aruna Lolani 20 May 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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