Tackling the many challenges of today

By Sarafina Sanerivi 31 December 2016, 12:00AM

Changes are inevitable. Some are good, others are not.

For Masele Ta’avaomuaalii, from the village of Faleapuna, looking at how life has changed has made her really miss the old days where things were a lot simpler.

Aged 62, Masele explains how great the past was with a low cost of living, not much sickness and simplicity for all.

“Samoa has seen better days,” she admitted to the Village Voice.

“One thing I can say is that there have been many changes over the years. I loved those past days because as I grew up in the village, life was a lot simpler.

“Even when it came to the cost of living, things were a lot more affordable; and the food we ate never caused much sickness.”

She explains that the present is an eyesore with life being so complicated and new sicknesses circulating the country.

“Now bringing us back to the present days, there have been many new illnesses introduced to Samoa,” Masele said.

“I think the main cause for all the sicknesses is the fact that people have forgotten how to take care of themselves and their families.

“The food we are importing is also one of the causes for sickness and it’s very sad. We don’t really know what we are putting in our mouths anymore and whether it’s healthy or not.

“That’s why I mentioned before how much I love the past days. Everything was easier and costs for things were great, sugar never made it above one dollar.

“Even the food choices were a lot better because we never had this imported chicken and our meals consisted of mainly fish and tin fish.”

And in regards to the village life, Masele says that people are not as active as they once were.

“To be honest with you, life in the village is just like life in the town areas,” she said.

“They wake up and just eat; people don’t like to work very hard anymore, it’s not like back in the days where people were very hard working.

“Nowadays, different parts of the village go through different things, for our part of the village, many people rely a lot on the ocean and that’s where the food and the money come from.

“Back in the days, people were very hard working and they would work both the land and the sea. Life has really changed.”

But all in all, Masele says that her village is doing very well with a good village council to lead the way.

“In regards to how the village is doing, this village is doing very well,” she said.

“Our village heads are doing a great job keeping the peace and order. This has made people keep in line, back in the days we would see one matai escorting a drunk who was wacked on the head for causing a lot of trouble.

“Nowadays we don’t have that anymore.”

By Sarafina Sanerivi 31 December 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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