I don’t just want a job, I need a job

By Aruna Lolani 02 May 2017, 12:00AM

Nothing comes easy when you don’t have a job to depend upon and that’s exactly how a mother from Tanumapua feels.

Malaga Kovati, a 37-year-old mother with 12 children, shed tears yesterday when Village Voice visited her home, asking about her living situation.

Mrs. Kovati finds it hard to see her husband struggling alone, trying to make money for the family by working in the plantation and selling crops every day so everything can be taken care of, especially their children.

“Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action,” she says to the Village Voice.

“I desperately need a job because as the mother of the family, I feel how painful it is to work for your family, alone.

“Every day, our responsibility is making sure our children are well fed and that they are in school.

“Our Women’s Committee had a camp and what we discussed was what we need in our lives and in my mind, I said to God, ‘Give me a job,” she said.

“As a woman, when you see your husband trying his best to make a better life for your family, you want to help him out with that as well and that’s why I’ve been praying for work to come my way someday.

“I have 12 children and one of them is a baby. I feel that whenever we can afford milk for him every day, it’s a miracle considering the fact we barely have money.

“We also have to pay $100 a month for the land we are currently staying on because it belongs to the Samoa Land Corporation.

“We are also struggling with the no electricity and no water situation.

“We already paid for our electricity on the 4th of February but whenever we call the Electric Power Corporation about this, they say they are not up to our area yet.

“For water, we get water from our next-door neighbors.

“We’ve been staying here for a year now and not much has changed.”

Mrs. Kovati said that they used to stay in Savaii but the decision to move to Upolu was because they need better education for her children and are also trying to develop their family but it’s a difficult thing to achieve when only one member of the family works.

Mrs. Kovati used to work at Pasefika Inn Accommodation but due to family problems, Mrs. Kovati had to leave and put her family first.

“I didn’t leave work because I did something bad, no. I really loved my job and I was an honest employee, I never missed a day of work but anyone would’ve done the same thing if they were in my shoes.

“As you can see, I’m raising 12 children and back then, we just moved from Savaii and we were still trying to settle down and now that we are, I believe it’s my time to go back to the working life again so I can help out my husband in taking care of this family.

“I’m really good with children, I can cook, I’m great at cleaning, doing house chores because that’s what I used to do at the Pasefika Inn.

“I don’t just want a job, I need a job. I need it to help my husband, my children and especially my baby.

“I will be committed to the job and I will do my best to get any job done.”

Samoa, if you want to help Malaga Kovati with her situation, please contact her through number 7292521.

By Aruna Lolani 02 May 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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