Members of the Congregational Christian Church Samoa (C.C.C.S.) youth group of Siutu Palauli as well as the elderly celebrated the handing over of 21 solar lights with an ava ceremony.

They received solar lights valued at $4,994 which would help light up the village sports field while also providing a safe place for youth meetings and gatherings. 

The lighting up of the sports field with the solar lights also opens up the potential of Siutu village hiring it out to neighboring youths as well as sporting bodies, which offers an extra revenue stream for the youth group to maintain their facilities and fund some of their activities.

Income generation activities such as BBQ and food stalls are some businesses that can be set up at the sports field during sporting events.

The income generation aspect of the youth project is the poverty alleviation link to the project managed by the Samoa Victim Support Group (S.V.S.G.) which comes under the Government’s  wider efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls.

Reverend Talosaga Hitila of the C.C.C.S. Siutu accepted and received the solar light equipment from the S.V.S.G. President Siliniu Lina Chang, which will go a long way in encouraging youth to stay under the light of God and keep away from acts of violence.

The S.V.S.G. continues to implement community prevention programs and economic empowerment and advocacy activities which are all part of the Government’s project to eliminate violence against women and girls. They have also established families with villages and churches along the way.

“The support of leaders at the community level is important in sustaining the progress of programs targeting violence against women and girls in Samoa. 

"As such, S.V.S.G. acknowledges the support from its village representatives at Siutu for coordinating the handover celebration.”