All she wants for Christmas is a better home for family of 11

By Ulimasao Fata 24 December 2017, 12:00AM

Vaipou Taleni only has one wish for Christmas.

She can only hope for a better home for her family. 

While speaking to the Village Voice team yesterday, the mother of three and grandmother said their small house at Leulumoega-tuai houses 11 people. 

“This was the best my children could build when we moved back here and I can’t complain about it,” she said.

“But I am just hoping for a new house so that my grandchildren could be able to live in a clean environment.”

She said they’ve just settled at Leulumoega-Tuai after relocating from Savai’i.

“My husband is from Savai’i and we have been living there all our life until he passed away and we moved back here to my village,” Mrs. Taleni said. 

“We came in around January this year and settled here.”

Mrs. Taleni says life in Samoa has changed so much compared to what it was back then. 

“Things are not the same anymore in Samoa because life nowadays has been difficult compared to what it was then.”

“The cost of living is really expensive and our family is struggling to cope with it because we just moved here.”

She said only three people in her family worked and they were the source of income for the family.

“My son works, my daughter works in one of the companies in town and then my son who is a line fisherman working for someone’s fishing boat.”

“Apart from them working, my children are the ones working our plantation here in our house with our vegetable garden.”

Mrs. Taleni is grateful they have a water tank.

“We just got our water tank three weeks ago and we are so grateful because now we have water.”

“We still don’t have electricity at the moment; my children are still trying their best to get us proper electricity for our house.”

By Ulimasao Fata 24 December 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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