‘We’ve got this one gallon drum for water’

By Joyetter Luamanu 16 February 2018, 12:00AM

Tenisi Tinaina and her family are in dire need of a water tank. 

That is the plea from the Salamusu family yesterday when approached by the Village Voice team. 

“We don’t have access to government water and so we wait for the rain using this one gallon that we have, it’s broken, but that is all we have to store rain,” said Tenisi. 

Asked how long they have been living without access to government water supply, Tenisi said for as long as she can remember. 

“I don’t know why the government has yet to connect government water to the village. Growing up this has always been the case; we rely on rainwater.” 

“It is quite difficult living without water supply, sometimes I cry, especially in the dry season.” 

“We then have to fetch water from other families and that is quite difficult,” she said. 

“No one in my family works and we rely on our plantations to get money to pay for cash power, food, family and church obligations.” 

According to Tenisi, they have a huge cabbage, taro and banana farm which was completely destroyed by the cyclone. 

“I mean we cannot control what happens when natural disasters occur, but I hope the Government will give out some sort of incentives to assist families like us who rely on farms to get by,” she said. 

Tenisi says the Government needs to prioritize water supply in Samusu. 

She appealed to the government to please stop wasting money on the big projects to gain praise, but fix what needs to be fixed first. 

“If they can’t fix our water at least buy us water tanks, I’m sure they can afford it, they have given money to our sports athletes, but we shall wait and see,” said Tenisi. 

According to Tenisi, there are times the village water works, but it’s dirty and unhygienic. 

“So please if a Good Samaritan can help our family with a water tank we will surely appreciate it.”

By Joyetter Luamanu 16 February 2018, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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