A village boy’s dream

By Sarafina Sanerivi 28 November 2016, 12:00AM

Each and every one of us has different aspirations in life. 

We all have dreams and goals. 

For 23 year old Pito Saulo from the village of Uafato, his dream is to become a successful carpenter one day. 

Pito resides with his parents and siblings as Uafato. He doesn’t have a job. 

However, his daily routine includes going to the mountains and the forest with his father and siblings searching for ifilele (ipil tree) to make Ava bowls. 

His family depends on this for a living. 

“No one in our family works, so this is what we do every day,” said Pito. 

“This is the normal routine not only for us, but also for the other families in our village. We work together as a family to make it easy for everyone and simply because we all understand how important it is for us the youth to help out parents with chores and everything at home.”

Pito went on to say that he has been observing how to carve Ava bowls ever since he was young. However, he started practicing and actually doing  it in the year 2013.

“It was difficult at first when I started, but because we do this every day, I am now used to it and everything is easy now.”

However Pito said that the only difficulty is that they don’t have the right equipment to use. 

“I know that if we had the right tools and equipment, this would’ve been very easy.”

However, he is a true believer that anything is possible. 

“My father also encourages us to never give up. And so for me, I always think of that whenever I am tired and feel like stopping.”

Although Pito is now one of the greatest helpers at home, he still has in his mind and heart a dream that he wants to pursue. 

“I want to go and study carpentry so that I can have a job and help out my family. It’s difficult to find a job and that’s why I am getting some experience from the work here at home. 

“I want to be a great help to my family and that’s why I want to pursue my dream. But for now, I am using this talent and the strength from God to do this because we depend on it so much. 

“You know with this kind of work, you need to be very strong both physically and mentally. Because what’s the use of being a strong person when in your head you just want to sleep?

“God blessed us with so many talents and gifts, and we have to make good use of them and utilize them to the best of our abilities.”

 “To me, I prefer living here in the village because my whole family is here and I am used to the lifestyle here. 

“We don’t have much, but we are one happy family. And I hope that God will continue to bless me with many more days and strength to live so that I can continue to work hard and help out my life.

“Carving Ava bowls and selling them at the market is the only thing we do now to get money. And we usually get $300 every week after our deliveries. But that money will go straight to other things. 

“But I am hoping that one day, I will achieve my goal and be able to provide for my family. “

By Sarafina Sanerivi 28 November 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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