"Preparing Our Youth for the Future"
Flag Day Address - April 17, 2007
Governor Togiola Tulafono

Flag Day 2007 is dedicated to the Youth of American Samoa. The boys and girls we see out here on the malae, represent the largest part of our population – the youth.

When I see them standing proud in their school uniforms and when they march happily and playfully, I am always touched. Someone will wave and call out –“Malo, Togiola!”– I turn a little emotional when that happens. I say to myself: “The hope of our future marches on. What can I do to insure a happy and prosperous future for them? How can I help instill in them a feeling of confidence and security in their future?

They will be teachers and doctors, preachers and lawyers, law enforcers and business leaders, electricians and computer engineers, CPAs and NFL linebackers, nurses and radio announcers and so on. The future of American Samoa belongs to them.

Like love and marriage, youth and future go together. They are inseparable parts of our hopes for our children. Add to that the prayer that they will continue to have, and to hold, their God-given heritage.

Today, let us dedicate more than a speech. Let us think plans. Let us talk sacrifices. Preparing the youth for tomorrow is the responsibility of our generation. It is a sacred responsibility. We need to make an honest commitment to that preparation. I shudder when I contemplate what our children will face if we carefully prepare a path, and teach them to walk that path.

There is no secret to preparing a good future for the youth. The first ingredient is education. We know what it can do for the next 100 years and more. Talk of education is to talk schools, teacher, facilities and equipment.

More than fifty percent of American Samoa’s population today is below 19 years of age. Our budget for their education is over $60 million. Each year we add new school buildings to meet growth demands. With our new Director of Education, we are moving forward as rapidly as we can, so as to stay ahead of the curve. Teacher training and teacher enhancement top our agenda. In June, we plan to begin another cohort program to provide teachers who are school counselors with Masters degrees that emphasize counseling.

Placed recently before the Fono is a request for salary adjustments for government-school teachers. I promise you that as long as I am governor, teacher training and enhancement will top my education program.

A revision of our government scholarship is underway. I will present a full report on that very shortly. Let me briefly say that we are going to offer, once again, scholarships for graduate and professional studies, with emphasis in the traditional fields of health, education, social welfare, engineering and financial management. We have come to the realization that we need to educate and train our own doctors, engineers, lawyers and all other professional jobs. Scholarship and manpower needs will be matched.

The other vital ingredient of preparing the future for our youth is the preservation of culture, language and traditions. We have been giving a little more than lip service to this very vital need. It is time to act. Enough talk. Let’s act! And act in a major and meaningful way – now!

Within the next few weeks, I will be calling a conference to which I plan to invite everyone involved in cultural and language preservation, and in teaching Samoan Studies from the first grade to college level, from agencies such as the Arts Council, Humanities, Museum, libraries, Historic Preservation, churches and the community. I want that conference to produce a realistic and workable preservation plan that I can present to the Fono. Our current efforts are too fragmented. We need a unified approach to preservation. I want a plan that we can start to work on now!

Experts tell me we will be speaking the Samoan language for at least another 500 years. It will be even longer if we institute proper teachings now. And our matai system will be in practice as long as there are Samoans who can speak their language. This is not just about saving and preserving culture and language. It is about giving our children a set of values to live by in their own traditional environment. It is about the ability to communicate and interact by those values.

That teaching is no longer available in many homes and villages. We look, therefore, to educators to save the system. This is not a point made to spruce up this speech. Last fall, we had close to 300 local school teachers go through weeks of intense training in the methods of teaching culture and language. They are out in the schools now. That’s part of the preparation.

We have a new director of the Office of Youth and Women Affairs (Mrs. Leuga Ala’ilima Turner). She is well on her way with programs of awareness and counseling for the youth.

Social development is an equally vital ingredient of the preparation. You must have see the “Ta’ita’itama” roadside billboards. They are a part of a territory-wide anti-drug campaign under the leadership of our First Lady. It pleads with parents to please – “Start talking to your child before they start doing drugs.” Parents, all the pain and cost of reforms can be saved if you only take time to talk and educate your child. They may be computer whiz kids, but computers do not teach character and values. You and I have to do that. My fellow parents, none of what we are trying to do for our children matters if their minds are polluted and controlled by drugs.

The Department of Human and Social Services and Ta’ita’itama recently launched a multi-million dollar anti-drug program –Strategic Preventive Framework State Incentive Plan. It is an outreach on preservation. They are coming to your villages and counties. I was part of the selection for the program leaders for each section of our territory. The Governor’s Advisory Commission will review all their work, and proposals that are submitted. I chair that commission, which is made up of members of the community, churches, lawmakers and the administration.

You see, the fight against drugs and alcohol and their abominable effect is more than a fight. It’s a war. And I call on our community today –civic leaders, business leaders, parents, village councils, churches and social organizations– to do whatever you can to help this anti-drug war. Please help save our youth from the horrors of drugs, alcohol and tobacco. The worn-out adage of “An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure” is always on point.

I commend our churches for their work on youth programs. I urge you to please do more. Every church should have a strong youth program.

Now, let me ask you, the youth of Tutuila and Manu’a – you have heard me describe how we are making preparations for you to have a good, decent future. What can you do and what will you do to help us prepare your future? We do not require much from you; only that you make serious and honest use of the opportunities in education, and to take to heart all of our efforts to create for you as perfect a society as we can so that you can enjoy it in your future years.

I close with the recognition of a young man who lost his life in Iraq last week. We grieve for Raymond Seva’aetasi. He was only 29. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife, Angel, his two children and his parents Tuala and Leata of Leone. Let us continue in prayer for our hopes for tomorrow, who are serving in the danger zones of the world. Pray that they may return safely someday soon.

Soifua.