Her story is one of the 45 stories of women in the Pacific being highlighted in a documentary series about overcoming challenges in predominantly male-dominated fields.

Filoi Eneliko, is one of the women partaking in this documentary series. She is the assistant coach for the Brumbies women's rugby team in Australia. 

Her journey began as a rugby and touch rugby player and always dreamed of representing Samoa. She fulfilled this dream when she played in five Pacific games and two World Cups.  

In her current role, she coaches local athletes to get them ready for national and international teams. As a coach now she hopes to mentor the next generation of Samoan players and help them become better players on and off the field. 

“I wish there were a lot of opportunities like this when I was young, there were not enough opportunities for me to play international games,” Eneliko said. “In this world and the time now there’s a lot of opportunities for our young generations to pursue a career in sports.” 

Being in a male-dominated field she’s encountered challenges but says that she is not trying to go against men in the industry but rather work alongside them and learn from each other. 

Through her role as a mentor, she hopes to inspire girls to not only become players but also coaches, administrators, and referees. 

“She Leads,” is a documentary series celebrating women leading businesses in the Pacific by Alex Stone from Pacific Trade Invest New Zealand and Mike Bhana from WildFilm. 

With the help of John Lemoa from the Samoa Chamber of Commerce, who had local connections, the series plans to highlight 11 women from Samoa in a five-minute video for each of the interviewees. 

The series has already been filmed in New Caledonia, the Cook Islands, and Tonga and its last stop to film is in Samoa. 

In August, there will be a virtual launch party for the series, and up until Christmas, three videos will be released every week.  

One of the main themes highlighted in the interviews with women in Samoa is working in partnership with the community, according to Stone. 

Next year, they are hoping to continue the series and travel to four other countries. 

“We want ultimately to inspire young women, or women of all ages throughout the Pacific to start their businesses and show that they can do it,” Stone said.