Justine's drive to grow netball in Samoa

By Phina Newton

Justine Samu is a busy working mum, delicately balancing work-life with family commitments as well as running a side business.

But in her role as Sport Development Manager for Netball Samoa, she finds herself in a unique position where work and family sometimes overlap.

A mother of two young daughters, and deeply integrated in working in the grassroots, the two intertwine perfectly. Because while she loves seeing her daughters live an active lifestyle, she has found passion in helping others to do the same.

"A great way to create a mind shift is through our future generations. That’s why I have such a strong focus to drive our grassroots programs then everything will flow from there," she said.

But for Samu, netball is a relatively new part of her story. 

Kiwi born, but of Samoan descent, she has spent the first half of her life living in New Zealand and Australia and is well acquainted with the life and customs that those countries hold.  

She eventually made her way back to Samoa, inspired by her parents’ decision to return to their home country. 

“We wanted to immerse our children in this lifestyle that you hear about, but you didn’t know,” Samu said.  

Little did she know that “island life” would soon lead to immersing herself in the world of netball. 

At first, she didn’t see netball as a job, but rather an extracurricular activity and an opportunity to spend more time with her family. It was only after being involved through her job at her daughter’s school, that her netball journey truly began. 

Both her daughters and husband joined their local netball clubs which encouraged her to get involved and become a volunteer coach. 

From here, her involvement only continued to grow.  

A year or so later in 2021, she joined the Netball Samoa team as the Finance and Administration officer before moving into the role of Sport Development Manager. 

As netball continues to develop in Samoa, so does Samu. Her position is one of a few that is supported by the Australian Government’s ODA program. 

Netball Australia has been working with national netball federations in Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea, to support the development and empowerment of women involved in netball.  

The collaboration focuses on strengthening organisational governance, administration, human resource management, financial management, program management and monitoring &evaluation.  

After attending an ODA workshop in February, Samu was inspired to be more proactive in her role at Netball Samoa. This proactivity resulted in her securing a partnership between the Team Up clinics and Samoan supermarket chain ‘Farmer Joe’s Supermarket’.  

Her initiative has not gone unnoticed, as she was awarded the experience of lifetime by being invited to participate in a safeguarding program during the FIFA World Cup. 

Samu was one of nine Pacific Island safeguarding observers, who were chosen to provide support at the tournament alongside Team Up’s team of specialists, thanks to the partnership between FIFA and Team Up.  

This was an invaluable experience for Samu, who was extremely grateful for the opportunity. 

“It was an eye-opening experience. Going in I felt overwhelmed, but I left knowing change was possible, even with small steps," she said. 

Thanks to the ODA workshop she has felt empowered in her role and has the confidence to push boundaries and create new opportunities for the budding netball talent in her home country of Samoa. 

“The ODA workshops always inspire me to continue to do better, think bigger and continue to collaborate. This one has refocused me on putting the specific audience at the forefront of my planning," Samu said.

She is grateful to her Netball Australia counterparts who have continued to support and encourage her ideas.  

“The relationships I have built with the women from PNG, Tonga and Fiji, as well as the support and guidance I have continuously received from Ellie and Sal from Netball Australia have been instrumental in building me up to become a better version of myself,” she said.  

Between her job at Netball Samoa, being there for her family and running her own business on the side, she has plenty on her plate.  

Though, she credits the leadership workshop she recently participated in, for giving her direct access to important resources and professionals in her girl – things, she doesn’t have access to at home. 

“Normally we wouldn’t be able to sit in a small group and have this face-to-face interactive experience with them. It’s great to be able to continue to learn and to see if we are on the right track," she said.

Though Samu knows there is still plenty to learn and a long way to go for Netball Samoa, but she remains proud of the work she has done and what she has achieved so far. 

“What I really love about this program is I can see the difference I’ve been able to make through Netball Samoa and even though they might be small steps, you know, you must take one step at a time,” she said. 

“I perform my role to the best of my ability, with the Netball Samoa vision at the forefront.”