Samoa reminded to value life

By Vatapuia Maiava 26 April 2016, 12:00AM

‘Fa’ataua Le Ola’ launched its official outreach programme during a press conference at the Fa’ataua Le Ola office in Matafele yesterday.

Spearheading the programme is Director, Papali’i Caroline Ah Chong, who spoke about their intentions.

“Today we would like to put out to the nation the fact that we are kicking off our initial outreach for the whole of Samoa and we would like to make it known that we will be starting this outreach programme on the first of May out in the district of Aleipata,” she said.

“The point of this whole outreach programme is to reach out to our people and to get the message out there that we should always value life.

“As we all know there has been a rising number of completed suicides in Samoa over the last few years and so Fa’ataua Le Ola won’t rest until this decreases.

“Part of our work is to get that message out that people should value their lives and if you are in trouble, if there’s anything happening within you personally then please feel free to reach out to us.

“If you feel that you cannot reach out to your pastor, parents or friends then just know that we will always be here for you.

“Everyone has a phone in Samoa so just give us a call if you need someone to talk to and we will be there for you.”

For Aleipata, Faataua le Ola has invited all denominations.

“Our focus is on the youth, we are hoping there will be various youth groups performing on that day in accordance to our theme ‘Life is Beautiful’.

“We will be covering the three factors that our organization is all about; the body, the mind and the spirits. We will have talks, qualified counselors, reverends, as well as youth performances.

“Annie Grace will also be staging a concert in front of the Government Building on Saturday evening and she will be out there speaking about her experience through life, as well as her beautiful music.

“Those in the other island can rest assured because we will also bring our programme over to Savai’i.”

According to Papali’i, the group’s outreach will be putting as much effort as possible to give people the understanding of how precious life is.

“We want to promote life as it should be, something beautiful, happy, fulfilling and a promising future for our youth,” she said.

“We want to focus on all the positive things of life, let’s not look at the dark side but rather we should embrace the positive.

“Especially here in Samoa, having said that, as adults we have problems too. No matter the age just give us a call and we will have qualified counselors on the phone ready to take you through.

“They will help you sort out your life, sort out your feelings, sort out your thoughts and I promise you that you will put that phone down or walk away from this office feeling 90-100% better.

“It is so important for a person to be able to talk to someone and to share what is inside of them, don’t bottle up your problems and come to us or reach out to someone, don’t be ashamed. “Everything is 100% confidential which means that no information will be available for anyone; we are only here to help.”

If you are having suicidal thoughts or if you know anyone who is, Fa’ataua le Ola urges the public to call them on their free lifeline at 8-005-433 which remains in operation 24/7 or visit their office on the ground floor of the John Wesley Building.

By Vatapuia Maiava 26 April 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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