Mother of seven tells of hardship and struggles

By Aruna Lolani 17 May 2017, 12:00AM

Lorrane Tovio of Leauva’a doesn’t hide it.

Speaking to the Village Voice yesterday, she said she is struggling with how expensive the cost of living has become.

The mother of seven said it would have been okay if there were enough income generating opportunities.

But as it stands, this is not the case in Samoa.

The housewife is responsible for taking care of her children while her husband is working as a fruit picker in New Zealand.

 “Most people have admitted that the cost of living has gone up and it’s true but I think it’s harder and more expensive for those who have big families like me,” she said.

“That is the very reason why my husband decided to go and pick apples for the betterment of our family.”

“But you know it’s not easy, he said most of the time, the fruit pickers only have three working days, depending on how good the weather is.”

“That’s why they’re coming back early but I am excited to see the father of my babies again.”

Lorrane said besides from being a mom at home looking after the kids, she sometimes sells peanuts to make a little bit of money if there’s a delay with the money that her husband sends over.

“There are too many things that we are obligated to finance these days and the money we have doesn’t even come close to covering everything.”

“So what I do is, when we don’t have enough disposable income, a cup of tea and fa’alifu taro is enough but when we have more income than we deserve, we try to enjoy a little by buying some chicken to make a good meal for the family.”

“We even have a hard time walking everywhere we go because the school and church are far away from where we stay and most of the time we can’t afford bus fares.”

“My husband is trying his best to earn enough for a car for us especially his kids.”

“I just think the expensive cost of living is making it difficult for Samoan people to survive and most of us need help with what to eat and drink nowadays because of that.”

By Aruna Lolani 17 May 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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