Growing up as a young man in the village

By Vatapuia Maiava 22 December 2016, 12:00AM

For Faletoese Letaulau, from the village of Fasito’o-Uta, village life is all great.

But he has a long way to go before the future of the village is placed in his hands.

Aged 18, Faletoese’s current goal is to finish school so he can join the work force and help out his family. He explains what life for a young man in the village is like. Learning cultural do’s and don’ts is all part of life for those who will one day lead the villagers. “My one and only priority right now is to finish my education in engineering so I can finally go off and look for a job to help my family out,” Faletoese told the village voice.

“To be honest, I think that everything is going pretty well in my village, especially for the children and the youth living here. We are taught to be leaders from when we are young.

“We have a rule in our village that we have to know lead from when you are young to until you get older. The village really pushes parents to teach their children well so when it comes to things the village organizes, we know how to walk and act.”

Faletoese explains that there aren’t many problems in the village because everyone is taught how to deal with everything while they grow up. “There aren’t many issues within the village,” he said.

“That’s because people are taught how to take care of their own problems. When the time comes for me to become one of the village leaders, I already know the dos and don’ts.

“When it comes to hosting village meetings then I already know what to do because I always come and watch the adults conduct their meetings.

“I know that when I get older, these traditional activities will be what I have to take part in.”

And with parents teaching the young well, everyone knows what their daily tasks are from the moment they wake up.

“Here in the village, the children just wake up and go straight into their daily tasks,” Faletoese said.

“That’s because we are taught well by our parents out here. For me, my daily chores are just the usual ones everyone does, I cook the taro, I make the tea, I pick up the rubbish around the house and other small things around the house.

“In the evenings then I go play some sports on the nearby fields before our family devotion when the sun goes down.

“That’s a bit on my life out here in the village.”

By Vatapuia Maiava 22 December 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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