Maua Selimo prefers to devote his life to taking care of his elderly mother and his family. 

The 55 year-old father from Aleisa Sasa’e, said those are his priorities. 

Maua is the only one who works. 

Every day is a struggle, he said, but they try to make the most of any situation. 

“Luckily the money I earn is just enough to cover my family’s needs every day in terms of food and the bills,” he told Village Voice. 

Maua sells the fruit from his land at a village flea market in Siusega to earn money.  

 “We have a plantation to depend on and we sell what we  have  to make money,” he said.  

“The money we earn from our crops is for our monthly water and electricity bills.”  

The cost of living is high though, he noted. 

“Not every family in Samoa is the same. Some people struggle to provide for their families but some don’t; they have everything in life.” 

“We are just thankful for what we have every day.”

 “We have the land to depend on, even if we don’t earn much from it, but at least we have something to turn to everyday. “ 

One important thing that Maua wants for his family is for them to be happy. 

“Even though we are struggling, my family is happy,” he said proudly. 

He was also accepting of things he feels he cannot change.

Village, family and church demands are expensive. 

 “Family fa’alavelave costs us a lot but we have to do it because it’s the way of life in Samoa.” 

“We know we don’t have enough but we still try to make do with what money from my sales.” 

“It’s a tough life, but we can’t do anything about it.”

His other concern is for his elderly mother’s care. 

“We all know, Mothers’ Day is around the corner, this is another reason why I will be bringing stuff down here to sell for mother’s day pocket money especially a gift.” 

“But my mother for sure does not want any gift, because she knows the gift is what we are doing to her every day, making sure she has everything she needs and is well cared for.” 

“This is also a great opportunity to wish you all the mothers of Samoa a happy mother’s day and especially to my dearest mother.”