An amount of $11,369 was spent on purchasing eight sewing machines and resources for elei for Vaipuna women's committee under the District Development Project funded through the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Development.

The women's committee of the village of Vaipuna was gifted with eight machines and other related materials for sewing as well as elei. The initiative followed the first part of the project where water tanks were installed for the village.  

The project coordinator and secretary for the village's women's committee Solinuu Laban said the materials will enhance the women's service in the village, church and families.

"The availability of these resources in our committee will improve our service and boost the development in the community. We women struggle most of the time to look for money to buy costly school uniforms for our children, or even paying a seamstress for such service, but now, we will rely on our own hands", she said.

Mrs. Laban said the equipment will be safely stored together at the committee's house for collective work, and they are not to be taken elsewhere.  

"We will assign days for women to come together to use these machines for various purposes, but no one is allowed to use these resources at their homes," she said.

The committee will also invite experts to conduct sewing training for the women so that everyone has the same access to the village's properties, and apart from sewing materials needed in families and community purposes, the women of Vaipuna have already set up a space in Apia business district to sell the products that they will be able to make.  

"Vaipuna women's committee is active when it comes to fundraising. With the knowledge that we'll obtain from the sewing trainings, we are looking at marketing our products to make profit so that we will help satisfy some of the needs in the church and village," she said.

One of the members of the committee who wished not to be named said she is proud of the great contributions that the women in their village have made towards improving the quality of life in the village.  

"I look at this project as a form of women empowerment, making us become self-reliant, and look for ways to upgrade the standard of living in the community", she said.   

Mrs. Laban said there will be another activity carried out in Vaipuna as part of the $1 million project.   

On Wednesday, the presentation of the equipment was witnessed by the representatives of the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Development (M.W.C.S.D), the committee as well as the village officials. The ceremony was started off and closed by the church minister for Vaipuna CCCS church Reverend K.F. Tuau, and he thanked the government for the implementation and the continuation of this program this time while the country is experiencing a high cost of living.