Mother highlights role of Women’s Committee in village setting

By Ilia L Likou 10 November 2017, 12:00AM

Women are strong pillars of village setups just as they are with their families.

Tamali’i Taulau of Si’ufaga, Savai’i made this comment to the Village Voice team yesterday in reference to the role of women’s council in their village.

“There is no denying the role of a woman in a Samoan family is important,” said Tamali’i.

Aged 41, Tamali’i speaks about the importance of a women’s council in her village.

“We have different types of women’s committee in our village and they deal with certain areas of communal living,” Tamali’i said.

“Women have specific roles in the village and the good thing about having these committees is that they help everyone in their own capacity.

“Like we have a fale-lalaga and it (weaving) helps maintain the culture of weaving fine mats for fa’alavelave and other obligations.

“We also try our best to maintain order, peace, create joy in everyday activities and keep our village pristine.”

Women are known to be the backbone of families and villages, she added.

“That is right, we deal with everything, we all know that chiefs concentrate on other matters,” Tamali’i said.

“But we are the ones who make things work, the help provided by the women’s committee caters to a range of tasks, from keeping order, to maintaining culture; the women do it all.

“We are tasked with taking care of guests such as tourists, we are also the ones who look after the cleanliness of the village.”

Other than to keep order, Tamali’i said the women of Si’ufaga worked hard to set an example for the children of the village.

“With a large number of members in the various committees, everyone works together for the better,” she said.

“We even teach our children every day how to walk and talk and when is the right time to eat and sit down.

“I mean, we all work together to help the village and we aim to lift the standard of every day living in the village.

“We work really hard to do good for our people here and we want our children and the young ones to grow up in a village where they feel safe,” Tamali’i added. 

By Ilia L Likou 10 November 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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