Latter-day Saints Donate to Samoa Victim Support Group

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated a 12-passenger van and household appliances worth an estimated $45,000 WST to the Samoa Victim Support Group (SVSG) in a special hand-over ceremony recently at the Group’s headquarters in Apia, Samoa.

Representing the Church, Elder Fasavalu Ututaaloga Meliula Fata, an Area Seventy, addressed the small group of SVSG leaders and community members who had gathered for the event.

He told about a recent visit by Church leaders to the SVSG’s three homes where 50 abused and abandoned children are sheltered. “We were so impressed by the good work you do for the children,” he said. “We wanted to do more to help.”

He handed the van keys over to Cabinet Minister Afioga Hon. Tuisugaletaua Sofara Aveau, Patron of the SVSG. Other items given to the group include two large chest freezers, a washing machine, and several other kitchen appliances.

Minister Tuisugaletaua accepted the donations on behalf of the SVSG and the Government of Samoa. “I thank the Church for the love and care you give to these groups of children.”

Mrs. Lina Chang, President of the SVSG, had just spent the morning traveling back and forth between the SVSG office and the hospital checking on a newly abandoned baby who will be placed in their care. She said, “We are thankful to the Church for this help. We work long hours trying to help these children and these gifts will help.” She did not know about the van until that morning. “I am so happy about it,” she said.

Their only van had been totaled in a crash, leaving them with only one small car to transport 50 children to and from the hospital and to transport abandoned children and abused women from the villages to the SVSG’s office and shelters. The chest freezers will help satisfy an urgent need, too.

The SVSG depends entirely on donated food from the community and up to now they had no way to store and preserve it. Taimaile Sapele Faalogo, President of the Samoa Pesega Stake; and Tupuola George Hunt, Country Welfare Manager also represented the Church at the event.

The Samoa Victim Support Group, established in 2005, supports victims of crime, abuse and violence. They operate three shelters: one for children ages 0-12, one for young girls age 12-18, and one for children with special needs or suffering from mental disabilities.

One Sunday, President Simon Vaoifi of the Church's Apia Samoa West Stake asked one of his congregations to clean the yard at one of the SVSG shelters in Tuanaimoto. The next day more than 60 members turned out with brooms, bush knives, and seven weedwackers. They cleaned the entire yard in less than two hours. "We are going to do this every two or three weeks," President Vaoifi said.

Papalii Tussimona Tinai is a retired policeman who volunteers for the SVSG and sees the needs of the victims in the shelter. One of his new responsibilities is working with men on violence awareness and prevention. Niuatua Onesemo, a SVSG case worker said, “I feel that working at SVSG is doing God’s work.”

The Church's humanitarian efforts are made possible by the donations and volunteer service of Latter-day Saints and others throughout the world.

Read more at the Samoa Observer.