The daughter of a nurse says she is proud of her mother and the work of the nursing profession during the measles epidemic.

Samita Sauituamaalii Samuelu, who is the youngest daughter of 64-year-old nurse, Rosa Samuelu's four children, said it was tough for her and her siblings as they rarely saw their mother at the peak of the measles outbreak.

She said a lot of criticism and scrutiny that the profession got was not justified as their mother gives her job her best.

"My mum is a nurse and during the measles she hardly had time for me and my siblings because she was busy with the vaccination of our people," she told the Samoa Observer. 

"Hearing people criticising the nurses, it makes me angry but my mum always tells me, never to answer back to the fools just let them be.”

Mrs Samuelu was absent from home for the most parts of the epidemic period, according to her daughter, as she left early to join the mass vaccination programme that was implemented during the state of emergency.

"She leaves our house around 7am then comes home at either 10pm or 11pm, she worked tirelessly but she never gave up,” she added.

Despite the challenges experienced during the epidemic, Mrs Samuelu told the Samoa Observer that having patience in challenging times is essential for a profession like nursing.

"During the outbreak it was just me and my youngest daughter Samita at home, because my other children are now abroad. I was indeed busy with work, I had to go out to villages and vaccinate people," she said.

Giving insights on the hurdles they faced in the rural communities, convincing mothers to ensure their children were vaccinated on time was always a major challenge, according to the nurse. 

"The challenge for me as a community nurse, is trying to get the mothers to vaccinate their children on time, because they never pay attention to us. However, when the measles outbreak happened they rushed to us and wanted to vaccinate their kids as soon as possible.”

Ms. Samuelu said she continues to be proud of her mother’s contribution to Samoa’s health outcomes, despite the challenges faced at work.