Growing up poor in a rural area of Western Samoa, getting an education was a challenge for Pauga and his peers. In addition to not having transportation to school, children were rarely able to bring food to eat for lunch.

They would sometimes snack on a coconut from a nearby tree, or if someone was lucky enough to bring a piece of bread they would share a bit of it with everyone else.

Pauga, now a resident of Eagle Mountain, is trying to help students in Samoa because the educational system has not greatly improved since his youth. He and his wife, Karen Howe-Pauga founded Children's Educational Relief Foundation in 2004 after hearing about the closure of two metropolitan schools that together housed 900 students and forced those who could continue going into other already overcrowded schools.

"We were visiting with friends and they told us about these school closures," Pauga said. "I felt like I needed to do something but I didn't have any extra money to put into it. My friend told me 'If you wait to get any money you'll never be able to do anything'. So I'm looking to do whatever I can do."

There is no tax system in Samoa to fund public schools, so all schools charge tuition. The fees can range anywhere from $50 per year to $296 per term depending on the school and location.

Students are also responsible for buying uniforms at $15 each and providing transportation, lunch, school maintenance and money for extra curricular activities. The government only pays for teacher salaries and some supplies.

"Kids who can't afford to pay for school stay home and work on the plantation or try to sell things on the streets," Pauga said. "From my research I've found that crime rates are high, teen suicide rates are high and so are teen pregnancy rates."

A lot of students in Samoa are children of farmers and they work on the plantation after school. Parents typically are not involved in their children's education because of working long hours on the plantation trying to make enough food for their families to survive.

In their efforts to help these families, CERF has distributed over 1,000 humanitarian kits of mostly school supplies over the past two years. They have also provided 32 scholarships and nine sponsorships to Samoan students in elementary and secondary schools this past school year. They are readying another shipment of supplies to go out this month.

According to Pauga, all students in Samoa are eligible for the scholarships and sponsorships. CERF has an application that asks basic questions about their family and financial situation and asks them to write a two paragraph essay. They've developed a point system for assessing the applications and have a three-person selection committee who have no connections to Samoa.

"We want to give as many children an opportunity as we possibly can," Pauga said. "The closer you are to town, the better education you get."

To Pauga, his education was key to breaking out of the cycle of poverty he grew up in . A graduate of BYU Hawaii, he majored in business management and later earned a master's degree through the University of Phoenix.

He would like to continue working through CERF to provide support beyond Samoa to other South Pacific nations such as Vanuatu. For the near future, their focus continues to be on his homeland.

"Most Samoans are in denial," Pauga said. "We talk about our situation and joke around it. We don't want the world to know how poor we are." For more information on CERF, you can e-mail Ao Pauga at apauga@thebluezone.net.