An elei material printing program run by the wife of a church minister has enabled unemployed youth and school dropouts to earn a living. 

The income-generation program, which has been running now for over seven years, is the brainchild of Tauvela Su’a.

She is the wife of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (CCCS) minister for Vaitele-uta Reverend Muao Su’a.

According to Mrs Su’a, the program aims to develop and empower unemployed youth and school dropouts to earn some form of income.

She has taught the youth skills and knowledge of elei or printing materials since 2014.

“When we came to Vaitele a couple years ago, there was no youth group and we tried to help set it up because there were a lot of troubled youths in our area,” Mrs Su’a told the Samoa Observer in an interview.

“And eventually I wanted to help teach the youth something they can do to benefit their families.” 

A youth member who has benefited from the training program, Iulai Alapati spoke of the importance of their training offered by the church minister and his wife.

He said Mrs Su’a is like a mother-figure to him and thanks to her training they now have a form of income.

“I have been doing elei or material printing since 2014, the skills and knowledge I have gained is important to me because I am able to earn a living from it,” he said.

“I print ie lavalava or materials but if there is an order for a uniform printing then that means good money.”

The income that the youth can generate from their sales can go up to $280 or more depending on their orders, says Mr Alapati, who indicated that they are also passing on their skills to others. 

“I also help teach other youths the skills so they can also learn and develop skills so they too can provide for their families,” he said.

“My advice for unemployed youth and school dropouts that may be doing nothing to earn a living.

“There was a time when I was a carpenter but it was difficult and hard then I just stayed home.

“But I am blessed to have my mother figure Tauvela who cared and helped not only myself but more than 20 youth members over the years.”

Mr Alapati then described Mrs Su’a as a visionary with a kind and caring heart, saying, “She is a hard worker who also looks for our orders.”

Mrs Su’a’s participation in a bazaar in Fiji, while her husband was studying for a masters degree, marked her first foray into the world of carving and elei printing.

“I participated with other women from other churches in a bazaar that displayed various skills of carving and elei printing,” she said.

It was through her exposure to that specialised skill in elei printing in Fiji that got the church minister’s wife thinking about the unemployed youth back in Samoa.

“In my belief, there is a great need of help that should be given to empower our school dropouts or our unemployed youths,” she said.

“While some might say we are wasting our time because some youths have been through a lot of trouble or are influenced by peer pressure, we believe that it is part of our work to help them.”