Ao Pauga, Co-Founder of CERF

I grew up in Laulii, Samoa. As a child, I witnessed families struggle to send their children to school. Although education is compulsory in Samoa, we had to pay for tuition and fees, supply our own uniforms, pay for transportation, and bring our own lunch (oftentimes going without). Education is considered a luxury when families are struggling with the basic need of food. That was then, and still, is little hope for children in poorer villages to attend a college or university. So, parents send their children to work in the plantations, fishing, or on the streets selling goods. Children are pulled out of school even before the end of their elementary years to assist their family with basic survival needs. The parents' best hope for their children is to leave the island and go overseas to live with an auntie, an uncle, a family member or a friend in New Zealand, Australia, or America where they can work and send money home. This has been the story for so many years. The families who were poor when I grew up are still poor. The attitudes are the same and there has been no change. Samoa is a beautiful place with friendly and happy people, but it struggles to provide hope for its future.

I came to America in 1989 to attend school. I earned a Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Management from BYU-Hawaii in 1993 and received my MBA from the University of Phoenix 1999. I have always wanted give something back to my people, so when I received word that a long time elementary school had closed its doors I knew I had to do something. Students are attending school with high student-teacher ratios (40-1 to 80-1), the drop out rate is high and youth related crime is on the rise. The opportunity to give back is now.

I co-founded Children's Educational Relief Foundation (CERF) with my wife Karen in October of 2004 with the expectation of helping these children build their dreams for a better future. The children are the future of Samoa. They can make a difference if the opportunity is given. Our goal is to give hope to the future. We help them help themselves.