"My parents took her to our national hospital and, at the time, the hospital did not have the resources or the capacity to carry out a comprehensive eye exam," the now 30-year-old, half-Japanese, half-Samoan woman said.
From the hospital, the Takazawa family were referred to an American man who was providing unlicensed optometry services to the local community and who charged 700 West Samoan tala ($265) for a simple pair of glasses.
"At the time, the minimum wage was about 1.60 (tala)," Takazawa said.
