“My AIGA (family) this is who I am “ Fa’amanu Brown
Photo: Nu Brown Facebook
My AIGA (family) this is who I am. Fa’amanu Brown
Driving from training to get notifications that I’ll be representing Samoa in the 2022 Rugby League World Cup, I pulled the car over to the side of the road and just bursted out into tears.
Reminiscing on my life.
My family didn’t have much growing up. Our normal was completely different to someone else’s normal. To lining up at food banks, sleeping in cars, no dining table to eat on. Using newspaper as a tablecloth to put our food on. I remember my Mum buying clothes for only $2 at Salvation Army. I use to skip school to help my parents and brothers go blueberry picking just to pay rent. We had so little but at the same time we had everything.
My mum use to say to me “Son I don’t have much money but I’ll give you my heart” and to me and a lot of Polynesian kids that’s everything. We carry our family names and our villages with pride cause thats all we got.
“O uo mo aso uma, a’o uso I aso vale” You can develop friendships every other day but your loved ones will be there through the storm, the rain, on the days most people won’t.