The Special Olympics Samoa’s Athlete Leadership Programme expanded its agenda last Friday to empower athletes and the wider community to stop the silence and stand up in unison against violence against women.

Partnering with the British High Commission to New Zealand, the Special Olympics Samoa hosted the powerful Stages of Change theatre production at the NUS Gymnasium.

Research shows that people with intellectual disabilities suffer a higher rate of violence than people with no disabilities and in some cases victims may not understand what is happening or have a way to communicate the assault to a trusted person.

In other cases, a person with a less severe disability may realize they are being assaulted, but not know that it’s illegal and that they have a right to say no.

In addition, they are rarely educated about violence issues or provided assertiveness training. Even when a report is attempted, they face barriers when making statements to police because they may not be viewed as credible due to having a disability.

Partnering with the Stages of Change project, Special Olympics Samoa used theater as a vehicle for reducing violence against women and increasing women’s participation in civil society and peace-making across Samoa.

The performance featured a group of women from Solomon Islands who are traveling the pacific sharing their story through powerful performances.

Special Olympics Samoa hosted this event to educate its athletes, volunteers and staff in identifying violence against women with intellectual disabilities and empowering them with the tools to be able to stop the violence and prevent it happening again in the future.

Chief Executive Officer of Special Olympics Samoa, Tusitina Nu’uvali, said the show is about changing attitudes.

“By recognising the magnitude of this problem and facing the reality that people with intellectual disabilities are more likely to be assaulted than those without disabilities we are able to change societal attitudes to view victims with disabilities as having equal value as victims without disabilities, and giving them equal advocacy,” she said.

“We aim to show Samoa that our athletes can be the leaders of their communities, promoting positive values whilst understanding themselves how to seek support if they are a victim of violence.”

Athletes from Loto Taumafai and Senese participated in the workshop and were inspired by the speech given by British High Commission to NZ, Jonathan Sinclair.

“Everyone has the right to feel safe and respected for who they are. It is your abilities that make you unique not your disabilities, so

Steve’s input into Samoa’s restaurant, food scene and culture can never be underestimated, with the upskilling of Samoan chefs being an everlasting legacy” – Joe Lam, of Scalini’s Restaurant

As the Australia Pacific Technical College (A.P.T.C) in Samoa farewells its Chef extraordinaire, A.P.T.C Papua New Guinea prepares to welcome him with open arms.

Steve Johnston, Chef extraordinaire and trainer for the Certificate III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery) at APTC Samoa, is moving to the A.P.T.C campus in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to establish the Commercial Cookery programme.

A.P.T.C is a development initiative funded by the Australian Government to deliver training and to increase the supply of skilled workers in targeted sectors in the Pacific region.

Mr. Johnston will be a welcome addition to the A.P.T.C PNG campus as Commercial Cookery head trainer as he has become well known for the seven years of quality service he has provided to the students and food service industry in Samoa and across the Pacific.

Mr. Johnston has trained nearly 200 students at A.P.T.C Samoa since 2007 from nine different countries in 13 program deliveries.

He is better known as the chef responsible for the successful A.P.T.C Visions restaurant in Samoa.

His approach to training has led to a high caliber of creative chefs that are contributing to Samoa’s growing recognition as a food destination.

Seiuli Ian Black from Sails Restaurant spoke about the huge impact Mr. Johnston has had on the food scene in Samoa stating that “Steve inspired his students with his great passion for food and its presentation – how it all ends up on the plate”.

Joe Lam, of Scalini’s Restaurant, reiterated that “Steve’s input into Samoa’s restaurant, food scene and culture can never be underestimated, with the upskilling of Samoan chefs being an everlasting legacy.”

Mr. Johnston leaves Samoa with fond memories and is looking forward to the next phase in his career with A.P.T.C, at its PNG campus.

“Teaching commercial cookery to Pacific Island cooks is probably the most rewarding experience I have had in my 29 year career as a trainer,” Mr. Johnston said.

He believes that true growth as a person can happen only by challenging yourself with situations that are not familiar to you.

“Throwing yourself into a job in which you can encounter people of different ethnicities, religions and with different philosophies, learning styles and backgrounds can only cause you to grow as a person, and the A.P.T.C provides that environment.”

A.P.T.C has campuses in Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.

Alcohol was not a factor in a crash at Alamagoto during the weekend involving a Police vehicle.

That’s what the Assistant Police Commissioner, Fauono Talalelei Tapu, said yesterday.

“The vehicle overtook a car that was in front of it and ended up rolling over,” he explained. “The two officers were taken to the hospital to get treatment for minor injuries while others in the vehicle went on to Moamoa.”

Fauono conceded that concerned members of the public who reported the incident claimed that alcohol was involved.

“But after the officers were tested at the Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital, no traces of alcohol were found,” said Fauono.

“The road was slippery because there was some rain that day.”

Further, the Assistant Commissioner said the vehicle was speeding in response to a call from a family who needed help in the area.

About beer bottles found inside the car, Fauono said the bottles were from a case the Police had been called to investigate earlier that day.

“I think they were mostly tired,” he added.

A businesswoman, Ana Simpson, of Alamagoto, said her customers were very lucky no one was injured when the vehicle crashed next to her shop.

“I am not sure what caused the accident because I was inside my shop at the time,” she said.

“But the car was coming from Apia heading to Tuana’imato.”

For her, all she wants is for the Police to fix her gate that was smashed as a result of the crash.

Told about this, Fauono said the family is welcome to ask for monetary compensation.

The Chairman of the Public Service Commission (P.S.C), Tu’u’u Dr. Ieti Taulealo, says a Special Committee deals with matters concerning the use of vehicles by Parliamentarians, not the P.S.C.

Speaking to the Samoa Observer yesterday, Tuu’u was asked for a comment following an incident involving a Minister’s son who drove and crashed a government vehicle that had been carrying a private number plate.

The Minister in question is the Minister of Works, Transport and Infrastructure, Manu’alesagalala Enokati Posala.

According to a Cabinet Directive leaked to the Samoa Observer during the weekend, Cabinet Ministers are only entitled to the use of one government vehicle and only their spouses are allowed to drive them.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi has been in New Zealand in his capacity as the Chairman of the Samoa Rugby Union and was not immediately available for a comment yesterday.

But as one of the bodies responsible for monitoring the use of government vehicles, the P.S.C’s opinion was sought over the issue.

“The matter involving Ministers and Associate Ministers (vehicles) is with a special selected committee,” Tu’u’u said.

“It’s under a special committee. They (the special committee) look at the matter and investigate it and make a decision.

“But any car used by public servants are charged and dealt with by us.”

Tu’u’u reminded about the case of an Assistant Chief Executive Officer who crashed a government vehicle earlier this year. He was suspended on full pay while the Commission conducted an investigation.

The Chairman said that is the P.S.C rule but it does not cover Cabinet Ministers. He reiterated that a special committee is tasked with investigating incidents involving Members of Parliament.

Officials on that committee include the C.E.O of the Ministry of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Vaosa Epa, C.E.O of Finance, Tupa’imatuna

Iulai Lavea and P.S.C C.E.O, Naea Beth Onesemo.

Attempts to get a comment from Vaosa yesterday were unsuccessful.

Her secretary said she was in a meeting with Cabinet for the rest of the afternoon.

Manu’a had initially defended the incident involving the pick-up truck registered under the Samoa Ports Authority.

The Minister said his wife was in the vehicle assisting his son and the family had paid for the damages. He also admitted that he uses the S.O.E vehicle as well as the Ministerial S.U.V.

Questions sent to the General Manager of S.P.A, Tufuga Tagaloa Tufuga, two weeks ago have not been responded to.

This car ended up in a ditch at Tuana’imato on Monday evening.

Bystander, Lalomilo Tovia, of Tulaele, said the vehicle had four occupants.

“The car was speeding,” Lalomilo told the Samoa Observer.

“As a resident living in this area, I just want to remind all the drivers to please be careful and remember that this is not a motorway.”

Le Mamea is currently President of the Samoa RSA and a member of the Samoa Senior Citizen Society. In 2005, he publicly called for the Samoan government to reinstitute the commemoration of ANZAC Day in recognition of the Samoans who fought under the New Zealand flag in WWI. He received a Queen’s Service Order for Public Service in 1990.

One of the University of Waikato’s first Pacific graduates, Le Mamea Taulapapa Sefulu Ioane, will receive a Distinguished Alumni Award next week in recognition of his longstanding contributions to education in Samoa and New Zealand.

Le Mamea, as he is known, hails from the Samoan village of Vaimoso, near Apia.

He was a foundation student at Samoa College in Apia, and moved to New Zealand to attend Greymouth High School before studying at Ardmore Teachers’ College in Auckland.

Before enrolling at the University of Waikato in 1971, Le Mamea taught biology and mathematics at Hamilton’s Melville High School. He graduated from Waikato in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities.

Two years later he graduated again with a Master of Arts, with first class honours in English Literature.

In 1976, Le Mamea became the inaugural director of the Pacific Island Education Resource Centre, which was established to provide

English language education, skill development and advice for recent migrants in preparation for work in New Zealand.

The organisation, since renamed the Pasifika Education Trust, remains in operation today.

In 1980, he received a Fulbright Award to travel to visit US research centres involved in educating non-English speaking people, and in 1987 he was named a Fellow of the Royal Society.

He was deputy chairman of the Council for Māori and South Pacific Arts of the QEII Arts Council, chairman of the New Zealand Festival of South Pacific Arts and Culture from 1984-1988 and an Auckland City Councillor for three years.

Le Mamea’s community contributions continued well after his return home to Samoa.

He is currently President of the Samoa RSA and a member of the Samoa Senior Citizen Society. In 2005, he publicly called for the Samoan government to reinstitute the commemoration of ANZAC Day in recognition of the Samoans who fought under the New Zealand flag in WWI. He received a Queen’s Service Order for Public Service in 1990.

University of Waikato Vice-Chancellor Professor Roy Crawford says the university is proud to recognise someone of Le Mamea’s stature with a Distinguished Alumni Award. “Le Mamea is highly-regarded in both New Zealand and Pacific communities, for not just his significant contributions to both, but also for his humility and humble nature.”

The University of Waikato’s Distinguished Alumni Awards for 2014 will be presented on September 19 at the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts.

This year, as the University marks its 50th anniversary, four alumni will be recognised with Distinguished Alumni Awards. The other recipients are adventurer, management consultant and motivational speaker Jamie Fitzgerald; economist Dr

Arthur Grimes; and CEO of Waikato-Tainui Te Kauhanganui Parekawhia McLean.

All recipients receive a limited edition cast-glass figure created exclusively by award winning local artist Di Tocker.

The Distinguished Alumni Awards celebrate and honour University of Waikato alumni who have made outstanding contributions in their careers and communities, taking into account excellence in the professional, cultural, creative and voluntary sectors.

The first show of this year’s Opera under the Stars Concert on Tuesday night was an evening of glitter, glamour and heavenly voices.

Held at Leauva’a, the event was well attended by hundreds of Opera fans as well as members of the community willing to embrace a new culture that is slowly but surely becoming a hit with locals and visitors to Samoa alike.

Among the world class talent on show were Daphne Collins, Isabella Moore, Taunoa Filimoehala, Juan Kim, Benson Wilson and Derek Wendt.

Chairman of the organising committee, Faleomavaega Vincent Fepulea’i said the concert is a great opportunity for the people of Samoa.

“For something like this, people would have to travel overseas to experience it,” he said. “But there is no need for that because we can bring it to our own shores because we have Samoan people in this art form – Samoan people who are the stars.”

Although Faleomavaega admits that it is an expensive event to organise, he said their Committee’s goal is to make sure concert goers find the event entertaining, giving them a real taste of opera music.

He said the event purposely planned to take place on Tuesday night because “of the full moon.”

Faleomavaega said he remembers his mother telling him “that it never rains on a full moon.”

So with that in mind, the show was organised some months earlier and despite some showers early in the day, the full moon did come out, giving every a fabulous evening to remember.

The final show was held last night.

View more photos: http://goo.gl/Fzav6j

Things “fall into place” for Hilo native Celeste Ha’o to visit her family’s home in Samoa as a Hokule‘a apprentice navigator

During a picturesque drive along Upolu’s northeastern coast last week, Hokule‘a and Hikianalia crews were hard at work cracking up one another — mostly with bad impressions of crew members — as their caravan neared the village of Faleapuna.

They were giddy and more than a bit anxious to get back on the water. Their journey — the Samoa leg of the canoes’ worldwide voyage — started just a few days prior with a swift overnight sail from Pago Pago to Apia Harbor.

Despite all the laughs, apprentice navigator Celeste Ha’o was all nerves. For the 27-year-old Hilo native, this drive to her family’s village marked the end of a voyage that began ten years ago.

It was not the ending she expected and certainly not the one she hoped for. But she believes that everything happens for a reason. She chuckled at a botched impression that was supposed to resemble a New Zealand accent but instead came off sounding Rus­sian. The car snaked onward alongside glistening turquoise waters.

Ha’o journeyed to Samoa with her teacher, pwo (master) navigator Kalepa Bay­ba­yan, to fulfill a promise to her grandfather that they would all eventually meet in Faleapuna. To get this far, she helped navigate Hokule‘a across some 700 difficult miles of Pacific ocean, against some fierce winds.

But far more difficult than the winds, she said, was leaving behind her husband and three small children, including a newborn girl, back in Hilo so that she could complete her monthlong trek.

“It was not an easy sail,” Ha’o said. “When you understand your purpose, and your vision is very clear, you have to go. But it doesn’t make it any easier.”

This is only Ha’o’s second trip ever to the South Pacific nation, but she already carries the highest title a woman can have in Samoa’s traditional society — what’s known as “taupou.” The role is akin to a princess, someone responsible for her village’s well-being.

During her first visit ten years ago, Ha’o’s grandfather, the paramount chief of their family’s village, surprised Ha’o by bestowing her with the title. The move also shocked her mother, Ha’o said. She worried that taupou would be too much responsibility for her young daughter living several thousand miles away with no real experience of Samoa.

However, Ha’o’s grandfather, Taua’a Tialavea, assured them that Ha’o could continue her life in Hawaii despite being taupou, she said. He told her to learn all she could there.

When the time was right, he would call her back to Faleapuna to benefit the village of some 700 or so people.

In Samoa, traditional designations such as taupou aren’t just ceremonial. They still play a key part in society. The islands’ chiefs still meet to discuss local affairs and to help address disputes on a grass-roots level, often resolving such matters before the police or courts need to get involved.

“We’re living it. It’s alive,” Ha’o’s uncle, Alaiasa Schwartz Hunt, said of the social framework that’s persisted despite Western influences on the islands. Ha’o “carries more than a title,” said Hunt, a local chief. “It’s her whole being in a title.”

Ha’o finally did get a phone call from her grandfather in March 2012 to make a return visit to Samoa. She had just spent the past several years learning traditional wayfinding navigation at ‘Imi­loa Astronomy Center of Hawaii under Bay­ba­yan’s guidance.

“I was looking for someone who could learn quickly” to help teach the concepts, Bay­ba­yan said. Ha’o, an education associate at ‘Imi­loa, showed a passion for the craft, a willingness to learn and an attention to detail — all essential qualities for any skilled navigator.

Ha’o was also mother to a newborn son and several months pregnant with her second child when her grandfather’s 2012 call came.

Meanwhile, Tialavea was living in Southern California to get medical care for heart problems. He knew all about his granddaughter’s studies with Bay­ba­yan to learn the navigation techniques of her Samoan ancestors. When he called, he requested that she sail a voyaging canoe from Hawaii to Samoa with a crew and Bay­ba­yan to meet him there so that the village could honor her teacher.

It was a huge request, but Ha’o told Tialavea she would do her best. With Bay­ba­yan’s help, she pored over possible ways to complete the task, but they simply couldn’t find a way to make it happen. Reluctantly, she called Tialavea to let him know “there’s just no way.”

Tialavea wasn’t worried. “When the time is right, everything will fall into place,” he told Ha’o, as she recalled.

On May 28, Polynesian Voyaging Society President and Hokule‘a captain Nai­noa Thompson sat in ‘Imi­loa’s planetarium with his crew for a training session on the stars, two days before they would leave Hilo Bay for Tahiti and the voyage’s first international leg.

Thompson was impatient. There was still so much to do to get ready and not enough time to do it all. Then he sat back in the chair and looked at the planetarium’s ceiling. He was blown away.

It displayed the stars as they had been organized by cultures from around the world, all on the same ceiling. It linked humanity through navigation — precisely what he hoped to accomplish by sailing Hoku­le‘a around the world.

“Who did this? Who did all this research?” Thompson asked Bay­ba­yan, his fellow pwo navigator.

Baybayan pointed to his student, sitting nearby. It was Ha’o’s 27th birthday.

Thompson didn’t know Ha’o, but he saw her work and her passion through the planetarium. Even though it wasn’t what the PVS typically did, he approached her and invited her to participate in the voyage.

He suggested she join an upcoming Samoa sail from Pago Pago to Apia — a quick hop that would work well because she was new to Hoku­le‘a. Bay­ba­yan would also be aboard.

When he suggested Samoa, Thompson didn’t know of Ha’o’s Samoan background. He had no idea of her grandfather’s request to return there.

“Of all the places he could’ve asked me to join, he picked that one,” Ha’o said.

She agreed to go, pending a talk with her husband. She decided to join the canoes well before they got to Samoa, meeting them instead on the small atoll of Aitu­taki to ensure her journey would be sufficiently long and challenging. Ha’o wanted to earn her homecoming.

Everything was falling into place.

In August, as the canoes neared Aitutaki in the pre-dawn after sailing from Rarotonga, Bay­ba­yan saw a motorboat approach Hiki­ana­lia, which he was captaining at the time. They were set to dock in several hours, but Ha’o couldn’t wait to meet them.

Once they regrouped on shore, Ha’o opted to leave Bay­ba­yan on Hiki­ana­lia and join the Hoku­le‘a crew, where she wouldn’t have her teacher to fall back on. During nine days of punishing weather, she co-navigated the canoes to Samoa with two other apprentices, Kai­mana Barcarse and Bonnie Kahapea-Tanner.

It was a tough sail, but Ha’o could look forward to meeting her grandfather, as promised, when they arrived. She was so close to her goal.

When Ha’o got to the island of Manu’a, the first stop in American Samoa, her mother gave her the news: Tialavea had suffered two heart attacks while Ha’o was guiding the canoes home. He remained critically ill in California and wouldn’t be able to meet them in Samoa.

Ha’o is still trying to make sense of the turn of events. Everything seemed preordained up until she came ashore on Manu’a. “It turned out to be a heartbreaker,” Ha’o recalled last week. “I wasn’t expecting the news. All of this was for him.”

Nonetheless, she resolved to keep her promise to Tialavea and to finish what she had started. She also held out hope, right up until the moment she and Hoku­le‘a’s upbeat crew arrived Thursday at her family’s beachfront property in

Faleapuna, that he would be there to greet her. It wasn’t to be.

Ha’o still hasn’t been able to get in touch with Tialavea since she arrived in the Samoan islands due to his health and challenges in calling overseas to California.

As she arrived at the family-owned resort in Faleapuna, Ha’o’s uncle Hunt and about a dozen relatives warmly greeted her and the crew. They then held a traditional ava ceremony (kava in Hawaii) to welcome her home, with attendees taking turns sharing the root drink using a coconut cup.

Dressed in traditional garb, Bay­ba­yan and Ha’o sat across from each other on mats beneath the shade of a talie tree. When it was Ha’o’s turn to drink, she held the cup over her head to honor Atua, or God, and Tagaloa as her kupuna, the deity of the sea. The tears started to flow as she spoke.

“I kept my promise to my grandfather to come home the way my ancestors did by way of the sea and the stars,” she declared to her family and her crew. “I fulfilled my duty.”

Baybayan sat quietly, his head resting in his hands. Afterward, he would explain that he’d already thought about what’s the next step for Ha’o when she returns to Hilo.

“We’ve come this far, but I’m never satisfied with the present,” Bay­ba­yan said. “It’s always about what we’re going to do next, what’s the next challenge. I think that’s the process of life.”

Ha’o, for her part, looks forward to reuniting with her family in Hilo in mid-September. She also plans to develop curriculum that can be used to teach navigation beyond ‘Imi­loa.

Thompson hopes she might one day help lead navigation classes specifically geared for Samoans, to teach the descendants of the explorers who helped find the Hawaiian Islands how to find their way around the South Pacific without modern navigational tools.

“If they’re successful at it, we’re successful at it,” Thompson said of the idea. “We need to think about what we leave behind here in Samoa.”

The Vaai Lau Foe Outrigger Canoe club is more than ready for next week’s Alo Paopao Festival thanks to weeks of preparations and a generous donation from a Good Samaritan.

Earlier this week, the club received six new paddles thanks to Matson Shipping Company and Molida Agency.

The paddles, worth $4,100 were presented to the President of the Club, Chee Kwong Zhu by Matson and Molida representative, Anthony Pereira.

A paddler himself, Mr. Pereira said the companies were pleased to be able assist the Club in a small way, pointing out that good paddles go a long way towards helping the crew to win. Mr. Pereira said his father was also a former President of the Club and so it was only natural that they would give back through the paddles.

President Mr. Zhu was extremely grateful.

“This is all part of our preparations towards the Alo Paopao next week, that we have been preparing for,” he said. “These paddles will make our preparations even better.”

Vice President, Robert Ash, agrees, saying the paddles are a heaven-sent since the Club has been using old wooden paddles for many years.

“So this is a step up for our club,” he said.

As for next week’s regatta, Mr. Ash said they are ready.

“We have been working very hard and we are looking forward to the challenge,” he said. “We know the competition is not going to be easy with a number of international teams coming but we are ready to go out there and give it our best shot.”

“For sure, it will be a tough competition but these paddles will help our club enormously in the way we will react out there in the open sea.”

More than ten international teams are expected in Apia to take part in the Festival next week.

For Vaai Lau Foe, members of the Club attended a small prayer service conducted by Deacon Maselino Talalupe to bless the paddles.

Matangi Tonga - Tonga’s first women’s crew to compete at an international outrigger canoe competition leaves for Samoa this week to represent Tonga at the Alo Paopao Regatta Festival.

Since February the local Taufatahi team have been training hard and doing 20km paddles off Tongatapu every week.

Soane Kaitapu, Vila Day, Jenny Nishi, Kate Vallabh, Utahna Taumoepeau and Rose Fangupo are encouraging other women in the community to get healthy, fit and competitive.

“We are grateful for all the support that local businesses and individuals have provided to fund our team. We would like to thank each and every one of them for their encouragement and generosity,” said Rose Fangupo.

Taufatahi will be racing in the 20km outrigger race and sprints next week against international outrigger teams from Samoa, New Zealand and Australia.

The Alo Paopao Regatta Festival runs from September 15-20 in Apia harbour. A Tongan reggae band Three Houses Down will be performing at the Festival’s concert.

The transformation of Taumeasina into a world-class tourism property is an impressive job.

The Samoa Cultural village last week was a hive of activities when the Teuila Festival was in full swing. Among other things, it was an opportunity for Samoans to show foreigners some of Samoa’s age-old culture and traditions in a fun and interactive way. For example, they showed visitors how to make palusami (coconut cream wrapped in taro leaves), taught them how to dance the fa’ataupati (slap dance) and even gave them weaving lessons.

Many of the tourists came from Japan, China, New Zealand and Switzerland. They spent endless hours marveling at the speed and fluency of the Samoans in what they do best.

Asked how they felt, they said it was one their best memories of Samoa, saying it was enjoyable and a lot of fun.

Estelle for example, who is visiting from Switzerland, was privileged to have been part of show.

“I can’t see this kind of event and experience this kind of traditional culture in my country,” she said. “So this is good opportunity for me to know and deepen my understanding about Samoan culture.”

Kenji, who is from Japan, said he enjoyed how Samoans learn to live of the environment.

“I’m interested in the Samoan culture because it is totally different from Japanese,” he said. “This is what I wanted to see and experience when I came to Samoa.”

Kenji says he hopes the Samoans continue to maintain their traditions and pass them from generation to generation. “My trip to Samoa has given me a new appreciation of my own culture,” he says. “When I return back to Japan, I would have a different appreciation of my culture, having seen how Samoans embrace theirs.”

The rain failed to ruin a beautiful evening at Leauva’a on Wednesday night for the second show of the Opera under the Stars.

After several minutes of heavy drizzle, quick thinking by the organisers saw the event shifted indoors so that the crowd would continue to enjoy the evening.

Many of them had turned up for a second serving of the opera talents on show that included Daphne Collins, Isabella Moore, Taunoa Filimoehala, Juan Kim, Benson Wilson and Derek Wendt.

A spectacular performance by Daphne Collins with the help of local musician and enthusiast, Richard Epa on the guitar of the Samoan love song, Lau Rosa, moved the crowd.

What followed was a fantastic evening for everyone there. 

The proceeds from the two nights of Opera Under the Stars will go towards the renovation of the St. Therese Retreat and Resort.

1. Fua Hazelman with Lupe Misa and Tiagogo Misa.
2. Samoan born baritone Benson Wilson during his performance.
3. Richard Epa during his performance with Soprano Daphne Collins.
4. Tongan Tenor Taunoa (Noah) Filimoehala during his aria performance.
5. Daphne Collins before performing Samoan love song Lau Rosa.
6. Arthur and Maretta Solomon with Pat Buckley.
7. Valelia Ausage, Serah Williams and Sania Louise Mataia Milo.
8. Daphne Collins and Leota Lene Leota.
9. Nusi Mauala and Malcolm Hazelman.
10. Jim and Brenda Winegar.
11. Bolko and Tangi Kyle.12. Taunoa Filimoehala and Benson Wilson with Jas Mariner-Leota and Violet Robeck after the show on Wednesday night

“If National’s candidate is using a title she has not had, that is an affront to the people of Samoa and the Samoan community in New Zealand” – Su’a William Sio

New Zealand’s Labour MP for Mangere, Su’a William Sio, says it’s a cultural affront that National’s candidate in the seat appears to be using a Samoan title she’s not entitled to.

A matai title is a legally-recognised chiefly title bestowed as an honour by Samoan families and their villages.

“The Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration has told Su’a it has no one registered under the name of Misa Fia Turner, the National candidate, and she is not entitled to use the title Misa.”

“The Ministry also says that under Samoa’s Lands and Titles Act 1981, ‘the use of an unregistered matai title is illegal as it is considered an offence to wrongfully use such a matai title’,’’ Su’a says in a statement.

He says under Samoan law the ‘rightful holder’ is a person ‘who has been appointed in accordance with the customs and usage of the

Samoan people’ which includes being recognised through a court judgement.

“The rightful holder also has to have had a traditional appointment in the village to which that name or title belongs,” he says.

“If National’s candidate is using a title she has not had, that is an affront to the people of Samoa and the Samoan community in New Zealand.”

Su’a says the National Party must investigate the discrepancy between Misa Fia Turner’s title and the view of the Samoan Government.

Asked for a comment, Misa Turner said the title was passed down to her from her father and that it was family’s business, not anybody else’s.

She also said she would not be following it up with officials in Samoa because it was none of their business, TV3 reported.

“Key global issues like sustainable development, climate change and economic growth will need a stable cultural link to inspire ownership and participation of our communities” – Minister of Education, Sports and Culture, Magele Mauiliu Magele

The Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture is moving to safeguard intangible cultural heritage (I.C.H) for sustainable development.

A key part of this was a parallel event held last week during the S.I.D.S conference to prepare an Action Plan providing strategic guidance and priority actions in the areas of I.C.H as “living heritage.”

Government officials, experts and cultural heritage guardians attended the event to share their experiences in the ongoing community-based I.C.H inventorying in Samoa.

Speaking on behalf of Samoa was the Minister of Education, Sports and Culture, Magele Mauiliu Magele.

“For Samoa, the richness of our traditional knowledge, our practices, expressions and skills form an integral part of who we are as a people,” he said.

“Key global issues like sustainable development, climate change and economic growth will need a stable cultural link to inspire ownership and participation of our communities.”

Magele reminded that S.I.D.S have a rich and diverse cultural heritage that are important asset for its sustainable development.

Especially Intangible Cultural Heritage (I.C.H), meaning the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge and skills, as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage according to Article 2 of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (herein after the I.C.H Convention), provides a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.

“In many S.I.D.S, there has been a shift away from a focus on subsistence, strong units and community, towards consumerism, individualism and a decline in the traditional social system.”

“I.C.H that has long been a core of the identity and the foundation for the sustainable environmental management has been disappearing rapidly in many S.I.D.S.”

The I.C.H Convention was adopted by U.N.E.S.C.O in 2003 with goals to safeguard I.C.H in need of urgent safeguarding, to enhance the visibility of the contribution of I.C.H to sustainable development, and empower communities who are the custodians, creators and transmitters of this living heritage.

The event was held at the Conference Room of the Development Bank of Samoa Building.

The partners who attended included the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (S.P.C), Pacific Islands Museum Association (P.I.M.A), Pacific Heritage Hub (P.H.H), the International Training Center for I.C.H in the Asia-Pacific Region (C.R.I.H.A.P) and the International Research Centre for I.C.H in the Asia and the Pacific Region (I.R.C.I).

The Assistant Police Commissioner, Fauono Talalelei Tapu, has confirmed that a vehicle belonging to the Speaker of Parliament, La’auli Leuatea Polata’ivao, was involved in a hit and run incident at Vaigaga last week.

The incident led to the death of a Samoan man who is based in Australia. He died on Sunday.

According to Fauono, the Speaker was not in the vehicle when the incident happened.

“The driver is claiming that the man had swerved onto the main road causing the accident,” Fauono said.

He confirmed that the vehicle involved was a private vehicle belonging to the Speaker.

The Assistant Commissioner also confirmed that the driver, a 37-year-old man, had turned himself into Police on Sunday over the incident.

He has since been charged negligent driving causing death.

As for the deceased man, Fauono said he died last Sunday after several days in hospital.

The incident occurred at Vaigaga on Wednesday night last week, shortly after the fireworks display in town.

The 48-year-old deceased man was walking towards a shop nearby when the incident happened.

A cousin of the deceased who did not want to be named identified him as Laulu Vincent. Laulu was apparently in Samoa from Australia to help with the construction of his family home at Vaigaga.

While in Samoa he was living at Vaitele. He left home that night to check out the lumber and other equipment and building material at Vaigaga said his cousin.

“The main objective is to enhance the competitiveness of Samoa Made Goods and services, increase customer confi dence, increase exports, which will benefit our private sector, our communities through job creation and enhance livelihoods of our farmers and rural communities” – Tagaloa Eddie Wilson

The Samoa Association of Manufacturers & Exporters Association (S.A.M.E) hosted a training for “S.A.M.E International Certification (I.S.O) Programme” yesterday.

Held at Hotel Elisa, the training was co-sponsored by S.A.M.E and the Trade, Commerce & Manufacturing Plan (T.C.M).

The President of S.A.M.E, Tagaloa Eddie Wilson said, Samoa’s World Trade Organisation’s entry poses challenges for local goods and services to be competitive.

“To succeed in international trade, goods and service providers must not only be competitive, but they must also be internationally recognized,” he said.

“The S.A.M.E I.S.O program promises to do exactly this, to enhance the competitiveness of our goods and services import substitute businesses and exporters but also create international recognition as being “I.S.O-Certified”.

The training was designed to help 10 companies in Samoa to become ISO 9001:2008 certified. Eight companies have already achieved the standards.

S.A.M.E and the government jointly promote the programme, in line with S.A.M.E’s Strategic Plan and the government’s S.D.S 2010-2014 Plan “Ultimately, this will improve the provision of goods and services provided by both the public and private sectors - and lead to the increased wellbeing of our people through more efficient services; competitive goods; increase job creation; and increase export earnings for our community and Samoa,” Tagaloa said.

In November 2013, S.A.M.E coordinated 25 Companies and organizations from Samoa to travel to New Zealand - and launched the ‘Buy Samoa Made' export program there.

In early August this year, S.A.M.E launched Buy Samoa Made Exhibition Centre at the Samoa House, also in Auckland.

“Following the success of this launch and the trade show last year the Government has asked S.A.M.E to establish a Buy Samoa Made Exhibition Centre in Sydney, Australia at the Samoa Consulate Office there.

“This project is planned to be launched in March 2015."

“The New Zealand export drive project will likewise be adopted for various other export outlets for Samoa taking into account the export (and) competitiveness development for our manufacturers and exporters and service providers.”

Tagaloa said the S.A.M.E ISO (International Certification Program) is carried out concurrently with its 'Buy Samoa Made' Export Drive Initiatives.

“The main objective is to enhance the competitiveness of Samoa Made Goods and Services, increase customer confidence, increase exports, which will benefit our private sector, our communities through job creation and enhance livelihoods of our farmers and rural communities.”

In addition to its ISO Certification and training program, S.A.M.E also plans to launch the H.A.C.C.P programme in November 2014.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi says American Samoa should think really hard about their status.

As a “disorganized and unincorporated territory,” they “will always fall behind the United States of America when they come together for global meetings, like the Small Island Developing States (S.I.D.S) conference.”

Tuilaepa made the comment during an interview with Samoa News in Apia last week. Told that the correct status is “unorganized,” the Prime Minister repeatedly said “disorganized”.

For the S.I.D.S conference, the PM pointed out with a conference such as this, American Samoa should have its own voice.

“This is similar to village council meetings, when the chiefs meet, the chief’s son always sits at the back behind his father. This is what’s happening here, when the world meets, the chiefs meet and American Samoa sits behind and waits for the United States.”

“That’s what American Samoa should really think about, if they should continue to be sitting behind the U.S.”

About the Bumble Bee cannery, Tuilaepa told Samoa News that Bumble Bee President and CEO Chris Lischewski is slated to break ground for the new cannery in December. Tuilaepa said initially the plan was to break ground early next year, however the date has been changed to December.

He confirmed that the cannery operations will be at Matautu Wharf in the town area of Apia where Bumble Bee plans to build a processing plant for pre-cooked loins and frozen tuna products and the company expects to start with 250 – 300 direct employees.

Tuilaepa told Samoa News this is a promising project and they are happy with it, as they have been waiting for a cannery to open in Samoa, because not only will it benefit the Samoan government, but mainly the Samoan people, as they will be gainfully employed.

Health officials manning the Diabetes Clinic at Matagialalua – including nurses and doctors - have not been paid since July.

What’s more, the workers were told that if they’d like to continue, they would have to work for free. That was when their contracts ended in June.

The confirmation from the Ministry of Health comes days away from Monday when the Clinic will shut its doors, as the authorities contemplate its future.

The decision will affect hundreds of diabetic, heart and hypertension patients who have been looked after by the non-profitable organisation, backed by government funding, for years.

Contacted for a comment, the Director General of Health, Leausa Dr. Take Naseri referred questions from the Weekend Observer to Tagaloa Dr. Robert Thomsen, the Assistant C.E.O Health Services Performance and Quality Assurance for Medical and Allied Health.

According to Tagaloa, the contracts for the workers at the clinic – including private practitioners “ended on 30 June.”

Although he could not confirm when they were last paid, he said: “I discussed it with them that if anyone wants to continue their services to the patients, it would have to be on a community service Tagaloa explained that the Ministry of Health had advertised for expressions of interest in running the clinic but a decision He also confirmed plans to expand the services provided at the clinic to include patients with conditions other than noncommunicable diseases.

The expansion, he said, would include more opening days and longer opening hours, as opposed to the current opening days of Tuesday to Friday.

“But we can’t do that unless Cabinet endorses it,” said Tagaloa.

“We hope to resolve the matter before the end of this month.”

Registered Nurse, Peleiupu Tautua, declined to discuss their salaries, saying that is a matter for the Ministry of Health.

However, she expressed concerns about the lack of doctors at the clinic as a result of the nonpayment of salaries. Nurse Tautua said herself and four other doctors – including a cardiologist - were on contract. One of them had set up an office in there so that every Friday, patients would visit the Clinic to be checked.

The office no longer exists, she said.

“The problem is that the list of patients waiting to be checked by him has grown since then but there is nothing he can do until his contract is renewed,” she said.

On Thursday, Nurse Tautua said she visited the Minister of Health, Tuitama Dr. Talalelei Tuitama to discuss the issue. She did not reveal what the outcome was.

But she said the Ministry of Health has assured that the closure “is only until the end of October. So we are hopeful.”

Such assurance though is little consolation to patients like Leautuli Suki Su’a, who has been a regular at the Clinic since 2011.

“We walk through those doors with happiness and leave with satisfaction because the service we get here is excellent,” he told the Weekend Observer.

The elderly man from Lotopa was among several patients waiting for treatment yesterday.

Expressing shock at the decision, he said: “You have caught me at a very bad time because I am waiting for my turn to be checked by the staff.”

“Where will we go now? I never thought that this would happen especially since this place provides the best medical assistance and service for people like me.”

Leautuli added that he and many others have learnt so much from the educational programmes provided by the staff there. He is urging the Ministry of Health to reconsider its decision.

The call is echoed by another patient, Tamalemai Faleafulunono, of Safata.

“There are already many divisions at the hospital packed out by so many people,” he said.

“What this means is that if we are to go there, we would have to wait in line for hours before we could get treatment.

“That is not too bad for the younger people but what about the elderly? We like this place because at least you are not waiting for hours to be checked.”

Like Leautuli, Tamalemai issued an impassioned plea to Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi and the Minister of Health, Tuitama to keep the clinic open.

“Please show people like us some love and allow this clinic to stay open.”

Based on these findings and confirmation that shark targeting is occurring, Mr. Norris indicated that F.F.A members will again be making the call for the banning of this technique at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting to be held in Apia, Samoa, in December 2014

It was previously thought that the two heavily depleted pelagic sharks in the Western and Central Pacific, the silky and the oceanic whitetip, were victims of unintended bycatch.

However, a startling new study from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (S.P.C) shows that sharks are actually being specifically targeted by some tuna longline boats operating in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

Dr. Shelton Harley, Principal Fisheries Scientist in S.P.C’s Oceanic Fisheries

Programme said the finding was unexpected.

“The results of this work were quite unexpected and pretty exciting,” he said.

“We knew that almost all the longline catch of these species was caught by boats targeting tuna but, when we analysed the data collected by independent Pacific Island fisheries observers, we discovered that a lot of the sharks were being caught on special lines with wire traces and shark bait attached to the floats on the longlines.

“In fact, these lines took up to half of all silky and oceanic whitetip sharks captured on the observed longline trips.”

These findings were heralded as great news by the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (F.F.A).

“Both of these species are in a bad way and if it was accidental bycatch then it might be a difficult problem to solve, but here we see that the main problem is these appropriately named ‘shark-lines,’” F.F.A’s Deputy Director-General, Wez Norris said.

“F.F.A members proposed that these shark lines be banned in 2013, but some fishing for non-shark species.”

The recent study found, however, that no less than thirteen of the top fifteen species caught on these special lines were sharks (mahi mahi (2nd) and wahoo (12th) were the others).

In addition to silky (1st) and oceanic white tip sharks (3rd), the list included several other sharks that have been recognised by international organisations as being of concern, such as two species of hammerhead sharks, and tiger sharks.

Based on these findings and confirmation that shark targeting is occurring, Mr. Norris indicated that F.F.A members will again be making the call for the banning of this technique at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting to be held in Apia, Samoa, in December 2014.

“We call on responsible fishing nations to support this proposal.”

A young man living by himself at Malifa was gutted yesterday when he arrived home from work to find his house completed destroyed by fire. “I’m homeless,” he told the Sunday Samoan, asking if his name could be withheld. “I simply don't know what to do now. I’ve lost everything.”

The fire ripped through his house late yesterday afternoon, gutting everything in it.  Although the Fire and Emergency Services Authority arrived immediately, there was little they could do.

Asked if anyone was at home, the man said no. While he has relatives who are in Samoa for the Jehovah’s Witness Faith’s conference, he said they were out of the house when the fire started.

“So there was no one here,” he said.

When the Sunday Samoan arrived at the scene, two fire trucks were just leaving.

According to people in the area, the house was on fire between 3.30 and 4pm.

As for the homeowner, he was simply speechless. “As you can see, there is nothing left,” he said.

“Right now, my thoughts have run away from me. This is devastating.”