Are you in Samoa?
Send us your stories, photos and video
Follow us on Twitter
While her father Faapoi digs graves for her two older sisters to be buried in today, Lima survived after she floated out to sea when the tsunami struck.
The family were driving along the coastal road towards Lalomanu when the first wave rolled in. The ute was slammed against a rock then pinned under a fallen tree.
Sitting on the truck deck were Losivale, 10, and Lutia Fiona, 2, who were swept into the surge.
Trapped inside the cab were Faapoi, his wife Mekala and their infant daughter.
Suffocating as the water poured in, Faapoi smashed the driver's door window and pushed Lima out into the water - and she floated away on the swirling seas.
The couple smashed the windscreen to escape and, as Mekala managed to grasp hold of a fallen tree, Faapoi desperately swam towards his tiny daughter.
Somehow she floated, rather than being sucked under the waves.
Tucking her under one arm he managed to cling on to a piece of drift wood, the pair bobbing in the open water for 30 minutes before they regained land.
On the shore, the shaken family found the bodies of their two other daughters.
The two men carried the children back to their home in Lepa, where their bodies were cleaned by their grieving parents.
Yesterday, Lima acted like any other cranky 4-month-old, crying in the intense heat until she was comforted by her mother.
Lima will never remember her sisters but the marked grave site outside their family home will be a permanent reminder.
How you can help
Pacific Cooperation Foundation
Deposits can be made at at any Westpac branch. All the money raised will go to the Samoan Government
Red Cross
- Make a secure online donation at redcross.org.nz
- Send cheques to the Samoan Red Cross Fund, PO Box 12140, Thorndon, Wellington 6144
- Call 0900 31 100 to make an automatic $20 donation
- Make a donation at any NZ Red Cross office
ANZ bank
Make a donation at any ANZ bank branch, or donate directly to the ANZ appeal account: 01 1839 0143546 00
Oxfam
- Make a secure online donation at
Oxfam.org.nz
- Phone 0800 400 666 or make an automatic $20 donation by calling 0900 600 20
