Nothing is impossible if you have the determination to achieve what you want.

For Pule Amataga, 31-year-old father of three from the villages of Falefa and Si’usega, his commitment is to look after his family.

Mr. Amataga said life in Samoa now is all about money. 

And that requires hard work.

“In Samoa today, nothing comes easy for anyone that is just sitting around and doing nothing,” he said.

“For Samoa itself you have to have money to provide for your family as well as to support your whole family in terms of family obligations.

“So to me the best way to cope with these struggles is to work hard and make sure you do your best to support your family.”

Mr. Amataga works for a local supermarket.

He said he appreciates the fact he has a job, unlike many people who are unemployed.

Looking back, Mr. Amataga said life hasn’t changed much at all. The struggles we are facing today, he said, were the same faced by our parents.

“It’s just that it has new dynamics,” he said.

 “The cost of living is not a new struggle because I’m sure our ancestors and parents came through the same pathway.

“Our parents knew exactly what life would be now and that’s why they took us to school in the first place.

“So the only thing for us right now to do is to continue what they did for us and try our best to move forward.”

Mr. Amataga knows the cost of living is an issue.

 “I also told myself that the cost of living is the reason why people of Samoa are moving out and going overseas for better opportunities,” he said.

Will he consider doing the same?

He wouldn’t rule it out.

“When the opportunity comes I guess,” he said.

In the meantime, he knows what he has to do.

It starts by continuing to work hard and leading by example for his children.

 “We need to work together,” he said. Every parent must go out and find any way possible to provide for their families.

“I am struggling too in terms of finances I know if I give up on my work, my family will be a lot worse off so I want continue to work hard and endure suffering.”