Money and water woes for this family

By Aruna Lolani 05 July 2017, 12:00AM

Meet So’oletai Taivale of Eva and Lauli’i. 

Aged 56 we caught up with him while he was waiting for a bus to go town.  For his family, life is tough. They don’t have water in their home but that’s not all. 

So’oletai says they never have enough money to pay for their basic needs, which means they struggle all the time to keep their family fed and healthy.  

Having no access to some of the basic things like water is a sign of poverty, says So’oletai.

So’oletai has been working for Toleafoa Fa’afisi and staying on his land to look after the animal farm. 

“My wife and I have two kids and they are both sick,” he said. 

“It is also why I’m going to town to look for some money for their medicine.” 

“I work but we get the money in two weeks, and when the money comes we have an I.O.U. to pay.”

“At the moment my kids are sick and we don’t have enough money for them to see a doctor.” 

“We have lived here for years now and having no water is always an issue for me and my family.” 

He told Village Voice that life is not always easy but he’s become used to it. 

“It’s not the same every day,” he said. 

“There are good times and also bad times. The good times is having food all the time because I grow crops and vegetables around our house. The bad times are when the kids get sick and we don’t have any money. But then that’s life.” 

“What I mean is that, life at this kind of work is good in the sense that we get to grow what we can rely on for food.” 

But he also says that a lot of families struggle as his family does. 

“Some families do not earn enough money to raise their families even though the plantation is their main source of income.”  

“Aside from that, we also sell vegetables to earn money.” 

 “The thing is, some people don’t have enough money to satisfy the needs and wants of their family,” says So’oletai.

“And that’s why they say that they are poor. And that’s why we look at other things to earn money for a living.”

The father can be contacted on 7757934. 

By Aruna Lolani 05 July 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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