Educator takes on challenge for district parliamentary seat

Apia, Samoa – 01 April 2025 – A former educator, Tonu’u Fuamoli Amituana’i Misi has taken up the challenge to contest the Vaimauga 4 district parliamentary seat in the upcoming general elections.

The seat is currently held by Faualo Harry Schuster who is the Minister of Police.

Tonu’u told Talamua that she has been approached several times by the Alii ma Faipule of Alamagoto village where she holds the Tonu’u matai title, to be their candidate, but she felt she was not ready.

However, several other villages within the district and her family have since joined the Alamagoto village’s call that has encouraged her to take up the challenge.

Not wanting to put ignore the trust in her by several villages of the constituency, the Chief Executive Officer of the Vaimauga 4 District Council said she turned to God.

“I felt the warmth of God and realize that maybe it was time to accept the calling,” said Tonu’u.

FAST candidate
With the division in the FAST party, she listened to what the Alii ma Faipule of Alamagoto decided.

She is now registered as a FAST candidate and will be officially presented to the party at the end of next month.

Asked why the delay, she said, as the Chief Executive Officer of the Vaimauga 4 Council, she had to finalize some of the projects under the $1 million District Development Project before stepping down.

On 24th April 2025, a support letter from the Apia village mayor Tuiletufuga Frizt Tuiavi’i endorsed the village’s support for Tonu’u’s candidacy for Vaimauga 4.

As the leading figure in the $1m District Development Project, Tonu’u and her team have successfully implemented several projects for the sub-villages of the district.

Her work has been commended by the $1m project Steering Committee as one of the districts that is in the forefront of the projects implementation that submits audited report on time and way before the deadline.

Speaking to Talamua, she said they are currently working on their audited report for the 4th million.

Vaimauga 4 is one of the diverse and spread out districts that comprises the villages of Apia, Lalovaea, Palisi, Tufuiopa, Alamagoto, Sogi, Matafele, Taufusi, Aai o Fiti, Aai o Niue, Vaimea, Leufisa, Leififi, Malifa, Mulinu’u, Togafu’afu’a, Tuloto, Saleufi, and Fugalei.

Work experiences
Prior to becoming the CEO of the District Council, Tonu’u has served in  various trade locally and internationally.

Her working experience took her from a bank teller at ANZ Bank to serving as a teacher at various schools in Samoa and American Samoa.

She also served as a Secretary, Treasurer and eventually President of various churches organisations and school boards.

Then came the challenge of holding the family matai title which took her to a different level of service which includes being elected as village mayor  several times.

She is a part-time lecturer at NUS and continues to advocate for the development of education and youths.

He community commitment and services saw her establish a Tutorial Center for students including drop out students and advisor for youth groups within the district.

She is also a businesswoman who operates a shop and restaurant at Tufuiopa.

Tonu’u started her education at Malifa Primary, Leififi Intermediate School, Radford High School in Hawaii, St. Mary’s College (Samoa) and the Catholic Senior School.

In 1999 she took an Applied Principal of Learning at the Manumalo Baptist Church & School in American Samoa.

In 2006, she graduated with a Bachelor of Education from the National University of Samoa and followed with a Diploma in Professional
Development & Continuing Education at NUS.

In 2017, she graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from NUS and in 2019, successfully completed and graduated with a Masters in Education from the same institution.