The Samoa Ala Mai initiative put together by a group of prominent women held a youth rally today to focus on persuading youth eligible voters to make their voices heard.
Caretaker Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi addressed participants and highlighted the many challenges faced by youth in recent times.
Tuilaepa targeted an embarrassing and infective social issue mostly dismissed by many in proper conversation.
"You the youth of Samoa, you are the future of this country, yet so many of you are standing in court for cases of stalking and invasion of privacy," he said.
"The terms 'Moekolo' (stalking) and 'Tutu paipa' are your worst fears, stay away from these types of acts," he added.
"In order to be responsible, you have to have a voice in big decisions we make, so take responsibility, don’t fall into the crowd, you have to stand out," he said.
The youth rally, is part of ongoing work by Samoa Ala Mai to encourage youth to make their voices heard in their government decisions.
They are being urged to take a stand, and separate themselves from the tradition of voting by relations, and choose those who speak of issues.
One of these issues, Tuilaepa said is employment.
"We are unlike outside countries, we don’t have unemployment, we have what is called underemployment.
"Meaning, we have all the land we can farm and harvest, yet we choose to roam around the town doing nothing all day trying to look for a partner," the caretaker PM said.
"But if you were working the lands, you would easily be earning yourself a living and providing fir your families," he added.
Tuilaepa added that this is all a part of the community efforts, even in church organisations and youth groups.
He believes that it should be fostered in every church youth group the ideals of developing youth into responsible people who know as much about the bible as they do about nuking a living.
How does he propose this?
"There should be focuses, part to focus on the spiritual teachings, part about sports, education, health, and all the other aspects in a young man and woman’s life," he stated.
The rally for Upolu is this week.
Samoa Ala Mai is looking to expand to the big island of Savaii before election time next month.