Life has changed considerably in Samoa today compared to the past. 

At 51 years of age, Lio Sasagi from the village of Fasito’o-tai knows.

Mr. Sasagi was on his way home from the plantation last weekend when the Village Voice team met him.

Mr. Sasagi said the cost of living is increasing drastically every day.

“You can easily tell from the cost of things we have today in shops as well as the value of money that tells us how high the cost of living is right now,” he said.

“Everything is expensive, not only food, but also the petrol for cars, bus fare and all other things.

“It’s hard for some of the families right now, but don’t forget about the family obligations and all that too.”

Mr. Sasagi says Samoa needs to go back to how things were in the past. 

“For our country, we have been blessed with this much land for us to work on and to be able to make money from.

“Back then our ancestors was so fit and strong that they work tirelessly putting food on the table for their families without complaining.

“The other thing is that we need to work hard and have the same mentality as our ancestors to solve our problems.”

Mr. Sasagi change can also be seen in the youths of today.

“The youths of today waste time around and do nothing good for their families.

“Good on those youths making money and also playing sports to support their families.”

Mr. Sasagi added Samoans nowadays depend too much on money rather than living a happy life.

“That is the thing with us today; we have been focusing on getting and earning money rather than being thankful for what we have.

“We want more and more on our plate and that’s the issue today.”