A new two-storey building at the Moata’a Primary School was officially opened on Tuesday in a major boost for its students and marked the first major infrastructure development for the school since its establishment close to 70 years ago.

The construction of the building, which was funded at a cost of $1,208,278 million, features 16 classrooms, a principal room and a toilet block with the funding coming from fundraising events by Moata’a villagers as well as a $352,279.20 grant courtesy of the Embassy of Japan.

The Member of Parliament for Vaimauga West No. 1, Lenatai Victor Tamapua, took on the master of ceremony role during the official opening on Tuesday and welcomed guests to witness a milestone in the school’s history, which included paramount chiefs of Moata'a, Asi Tuiataga Blakelock and Asi Keve Tunupopo as well as Japan’s Ambassador to Samoa, Senta Keisuke.

The Minister of Education Sports and Culture, Seuula Ioane, congratulated the village of Moata'a, the school's Committee and the entire student and staff body on behalf of the Government.

He emphasised that the project would not have ended satisfactorily without the support of the Japanese Government and other donors which included business houses and Moata’a village community members within and outside Samoa.

An elated Moata’a Primary School Principal, Vailili Tito, highlighted the support of the village’s paramount chiefs and matai, the village council as well as Moata’a community members near and far. 

Looking back to the days when the project was being planned, he mentioned knocking on different doors to seek support to build the two-storey building. Currently, the primary school has 500 students enrolled which is double the number from two years ago.

But the building’s construction also faced hurdles, according to Tofaeono Iupati Fuata'i, who is the President of the School Committee. 

The COVID-19 shutdown was a major challenge during the construction phase, he said.

“At first we planned to do the work within 7 months but the 10 rooms became 16 classrooms and two extra rooms for staff so it took longer," he said. 

Tofaeono also gave details of the funding for the project: $117,160 tala was raised from the radiothon late last year; donors brought in $710,328 and the School Committee took out a loan of $200,000 from the Development Bank of Samoa to cover the remaining costs. 

He added that the total funds received was $1,208,278 despite the fact that the total cost of the project was $1,488,433 tala. 

The School Committee is looking at doing more fundraising to complete the costs of the project with a call being made to the district members in the U.S. to assist.

The assistance of the Planning and Urban Management Agency (PUMA) was also mentioned during the formalities, with Tofaeono making reference to technical advice that the agency provided, when giving approval for the land where the construction site would be located.

“A lot of the land had to be reclaimed so we took the advice of P.U.M.A. to ensure that the footing of the area was solid," he said.

The support of the A.D.R.A. director Su'a Julia Wallwork for their contribution via cash donation of $54,000 tala and training for natural disaster management as well as material for the lavatories was also acknowledged. 

The contribution of Tofilau Fiti and Tuatagaloa Aumua Leung-Wai, the proprietors of the Samoa Stationery and Books (S.S.A.B.), who donated $10,000 tala and desks and chairs for two of the new classrooms was also mentioned. The late businessman James Arp also gave $3,000 tala and was acknowledged for his continued support. 

Many members of the Committee and Moata’a village also contributed to tiling the rooms. They included the MP Lenatai and his wife as well as Tofaeono and his wife Afamasaga Dr Karoline Fuata'i. 

The Moata'a village committees in Sydney donated $30,000 tala while those in American Samoa gave over $50, 000 tala and New Zealand came with $88,565 tala. 

Moata’a Primary School was founded in 1952 and its former school building had been in place in the 1980s and served the village school for the past 40-plus years. It survived various natural disasters and underwent several major repair works which became more costly for the village and School Committee to maintain, which led to the decision by the school for a new building to be constructed. The preliminary work on the new building began in 2020.