Opeloge was belatedly awarded the silver medal for her weightlifting event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics after the silver and bronze medallists were disqualified for drug cheating last year.
The government refused to financially reward her, saying they only did so to gold medal winners, despite the fact Samoa had never won an Olympic medal before.
The Samoa Observer newspaper organised a community fundraiser which raised over 15,000 US dollars for Opeloge and the editor Mata'afa Keni Lesa said even during the presentation this week, the government remained steadfast.
