In the middle of the rain, a family was trying to fix their home in Faleasiu. 

For five years, Tanuli Ioe and her family have lived in a shack with no proper water supply and basic amenities. 

When the Village Voice team met them yesterday, Ioe said they have struggled to make ends meet and are in desperate need of a water tank.  

And to make matters worse, Tropical Cyclone Gita that struck Samoa in February this year tore their humble abode apart. 

For now, her family lives in a hut at the back of their damaged home as they try to renovate it.

She said the cyclone did not just ruin their home but also their plantation, which is their only source of income.

 “One of the hardest times for us is when it rains. The water just comes straight in and ruins most of our belongings. The water supply does not reach our house, so we usually have to go fetch buckets of water from our neighbour. We have two iron gallons and we use it for every other thing we need, except for cooking and drinking because it is not safe – so whenever it does not rain, we would have to go to our neighbour for water,” said the 27-year-old.

Ioe and her husband are unemployed, which is making life more difficult for the family.  

“My husband works as a carpenter and it is only when he would get a call for construction jobs, then he would go. It has been a month now since he has stopped working because their job has finished, so it has been really hard for us,” she added.

The children’s welfare is a top priority with the couple indicating that they are both looking for jobs so they can support their children. 

“Everything that we do is for the welfare of our children, and right now we are searching for a job so that we would be able to support our children. We only have a child who attends school and our other child starts school next year, so that is another of our priority.”

The family does not have mattresses to sleep on nor proper clothing for the children and their daughter’s birthday falls on July 21, but there will not be any celebrations due to their plight. 

“We now rely on our plantation to provide for our family. It has been hard, but we are thankful that we are still alive.”

For anyone who wishes to help Ioe’s family, please contact mobile phone number 7765802.

To offer assistance, Help Samoa is offering free scheduled delivery to all Upolu Village Voice families.