Dealing with high costs

By Ilia L. Likou 07 November 2016, 12:00AM

 “We make $30 a day but if not many people buy our vegetables, then it can drop below $10,” said 47-year-old, Lini Wulf from Nu’u Fou.

“This market stall helps the family so much especially in times of need.

“The vegetables and fruit we sell are what earn money to take care of everything.

“We start off in selling paw paws, cabbages and tomatoes...and cabbages are the quickest source of income.

“We have been doing this for many years now and it’s a very good way of making money, that’s why we are still doing it today.

“We’re also serving coffee and popcorn.

“Our family is doing very well with the money we’re making from this small market stall.

Lini says that hard work pays off.

“To me, hard working labour workers are better than people who are employed and that’s driven us to grow vegetables.

“If you work the land well then you will have a source of food and a source of income.

 “If you work really hard then taking care of your family is easy because hard work is always the key to success.

She added that life now in Samoa is just way too costly.

“The cost of living is not good at all; the cost of food and everything had gone up by ridiculous amounts.

“Even with my son-in-law who is currently employed, he still doesn’t have enough to counter the high cost of living.

“To be honest, when my son-in-law gets his pay then it goes very fast with everything we have to do especially family fa’alavelave.

“The truth is, the prices for goods have risen while many people still live on a minimum wage.

 “There’s no poverty in Samoa the Lord has blessed us our country in so many things, but is just the high cost of living that we’re facing now.

“The government has made food items cost more and fees are so much while we’re still trying to make ends meet every day.

“I think the problem here is the government. They should look into ways to make everything much easier for us.

With all the hardships, Lini still thanked God for His goodness and mercy.

“To me, the only hope that we have now is the man above. We need to pray together for our country and our leaders.

“Ask God to please help our leaders and show them the reality of life that many people are now living in these days.

“And especially His mercy to keep us going even though times are tough every day of our lives.

By Ilia L. Likou 07 November 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>