Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The House confirmed Tapumanaia Galu Satele as Director of the Department of Youth and Women’s Affairs (DYWA), 13-3. He passed the Senate confirmation vote unanimously last week.

Tapumanaia was given the opportunity to address the faipule and to answer questions.

Faipule Trude Ledoux-Sunia did not pose any questions, as she routinely does, but threw her full support behind Tapumanaia’s candidacy.

“Your resume and work ethic speaks volume of your character and your passion for youth and for young people,” Sunia attested.

She did, however, encourage Tapumanaia to look into developing programs at the DWYA facilities in her district in Pago Pago, which, she believes, is often overshadowed by the DYWA in Tafuna.

Ledoux-Sunia further highlighted the significance of DYWA’s role and providing the necessary funding to deliver its programs.

 “This department is up there with the Department of Education in importance, but it is the most, probably, underfunded department, so I hope that in the next budget we can pull more resources so that we can help you develop the youth.”

Faipule Avagafono Vaimaga Maiva asked if Tapumanaia had taken a drug test and background check, to which Tapumanaia responded in the affirmative.

Avagafono underscored the importance of enforcing this policy as it is mandated by the government.

Faipule Tapai Alailepule Ben Vaivao probed Tapumanaia about his previous position within the department during the Lolo administration and if there was a particular reason why left.

Tapumanaia responded that he had requested to be transferred, as it was his belief that the department was heading in a different direction than he had anticipated. He was tasked with many programs in Pago Pago, but was reassigned to oversee the construction of the new facilities in Tafuna.

He explained that after the completion of the gym, a situation arose in the village of Pago Pago and it was then that he felt he was not valued for his work and wanted to be transferred to another department in which he would be of more value.

Tapumanaia, however, is grateful for the opportunity presented and stated that he is elated to return to the department that he deeply cherishes.

He referenced a popular belief about tuna being the greatest export of American Sāmoa, but he countered that claim with this:

“I stand before you and I say this, ‘Our greatest export is our children. It is our right and obligation to ensure that our children have the opportunity to return and serve our people.’

“That is my goal, to return to this department to achieve the objective of ensuring a successful future for our children and that they be productive and utilize their skills and talents.”

Faipule Larry Sanitoa offered his support for Tapumanaia and acknowledged the issues with funding for the DYWA facilities in Tafuna. He suggested that the Acting Director look into both federal and local funding, including resources that could be provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) office in American Sāmoa.

The Speaker of the House, Savali Talavou Ale, asked what programs Tapumanaia had in mind for the department, to which he responded by promising to implement programs that place special emphasis on nourishing the parent-child relationship.

Tapumanaia wanted to focus specifically on promoting the bonds between father and son and mother and daughter.

During his previous tenure as Deputy Director with the Department, Tapumanaia held “movie nights” to help promote the development of the relationships between parents and their children. The Acting Director also wants to develop a camp to strengthen the father-son and mother-daughter bonds and overall family relationships.

With regard to the development of women, Tapumanaia wanted to emphasize the empowerment of women. Currently, the department has programs that develop skills in sewing, cooking, elei printing, and others, which provide supplementary income.

He believes, however, “We need to do more, we need to empower women so that they are able to understand their value in our country.”

“We need to be able to focus more on how we can empower them to become successful, not just as pillars of our families, but as nurturers of our future generations.”

After his hearing, the House convened to confirm him. Tapumania is the third of Governor Pula’s cabinet members to be fully confirmed.