Gataivai Togipau Maumaga, is 81 years old from Fagali’i and has dedicated her life to encouraging and empowering women who are facing difficulties in life, including single mothers. 

Gataivai told the Samoa Observer that she does not regret being a single mother of 3 daughters.

“My biggest fear was raising my daughters alone but with what happened in the past has made me the strongest as I am today,” she said.

She was 32 years old when she got separated with her husband, her three daughters were nine, five and four years of age when it happened. 

Gataivai believes that positive single parenting helps her a lot with raising her daughters, they did well when they have nurturing, warm, sensitive and flexible parenting. 

She had a strong relationship with her children and are built on everyday moments, positive attention, praise and more. Her clear rules encourage good behavior and help her children feel secure. 

She told the Samoa Observer, that being a single mom is not easy and it was the biggest test of her entire life. 

“Being a single mum is not bad at all, it maybe emotional, hard and it left me with millions questions but that didn’t stop me from continuing on with life 

It was even harder when I think about my daughters and the life they’ll live without a father but it was for their very best,” she said. 

She went through so much in life raising her three daughters on her own, sometimes she feels like giving up but she praise God for his endless love and protection. 

She puts in all her effort to support her daughters and provide for their daily needs, she’s brave enough to do both roles of a mother and a father. Gataivai’s parents and sibling also contributed with raising her daughters . 

Single parenting involves many hours alone with her children. There's no adult she need to make an effort for or get sucked into arguments with.  

Gataivai reflects back on her life in the past and she does not regret anything she did. Her biggest blessing now is seeing her children having families of their owns and seeing how her daughters married to men with commitment which will be great father figures.

Gataivai guided her struggling life with a Samoan proverb, “ E au le inailau a tama’ita’i”, a woman can do anything without a help of a man.

She also used the opportunity to encouraged single mothers that they can raise their children without a help of a man. 

Gataivai experienced something more painful than being separated with her husband at the age of 63. 

“Nothing hurts me more than loosing my eldest daughter due to sickness, it broke me into pieces but deep inside I believe we will meet in the next part of the veil,” she said.

Her eldest daughter died when she was 39 years old in 2003, her middle daughter is now 53 and her young daughter is 52. 

Gataivai is a mother of 3 daughters, 10 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.