Man wants water, housing help

By Nefertiti Matatia 01 May 2018, 12:00AM

Life is hard when you live in a rundown house.

And when that house does not belong to you, it’s double the trouble.  

Taulagi Faasolo, 25, knows this.

He lives in Fiaga and part of his job as a watchman is to work the land and look after the place he lives in.

He became ill the first two weeks that he moved there. He is originally from Savaii and he moved to Apia to help his family financially. 

Two people live in the rundown shack and they use Chinese mats to block the rain. 

“It is hard living in a rundown house because we never know what might happen, especially now that we are experiencing heavy rainfalls and the roof of the house just leaks nonstop when it rains,” Mr. Faasolo told the Village Voice team. 

“For me alone it is unsafe living here. Imagine if another cyclone hits our shores again, it will definitely take down this house.

“Luckily I don’t have any children because there are only two of us who live here, so there is not much to worry about.

“This house doesn’t belong to me but I work here and I look after the land and stay here. I’m still trying to get use to the breeze. The weather up here is too cold, everything is new to me so I’m trying to get used to all of that.”

He also highlighted the unhygienic status of the toilet they use. 

“I have no other choice but to use what I have. This is the kind of toilet that people used ages ago.” 

Despite the many difficulties he faces with the house and the toilet, he is thankful for always having water at the house.

“We can never run out of water, we have water tanks and so many bottles that we could use to store the water here, especially when we are so far away from other families that we could ask for help when we don’t have water.

“Water is the most crucial and I am grateful for that.”

By Nefertiti Matatia 01 May 2018, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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