Village without water for 20 years

By Vatapuia Maiava and Ilia L. Likou 20 October 2016, 12:00AM

Many parts of Tufulele-uta has been without running water for 20 years now.

For Fatataua’i Fiti who resides in the area, this has made life even harder. His family along with many others have been asking the government for help for so long but the plea seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

Aged 63, the father begs the government to please show some love to the families up there.

“My only dream and prayer to the Lord is for help to come,” he told the Village Voice.

“We need our government to show some love for us who are living here. We are starting to get closer to that 30 year mark without water.”

Fatataua’i says that life is very hard for them because they have to walk very far to get their daily water.

“We are really struggling with the water up here,” he said.

“For over 20 years now, we have not had water come up to our village. In the past we would get our water from Aleisa but that time has gone.

“Every day for 20 years, we would have to walk down the road to fetch water. If we don’t go and fetch water then we won’t have water for the day, and without water, I don’t know what we will do.”

The villagers are not only experiencing water problems, but they also have problems with the state of the road.

“We are always trying to humble ourselves and ask the government for assistance with our ongoing water problems,” he said.

“Not only do we not have any water pipes coming up to our village; but if you look at our road, you will notice that it’s in a very bad state and we have always tried asking the government for help.”

According to Fatataua’i, the state of the road is both bad for the cars and a health hazard with all the dust.

“Coming up to this part of the village, the road is in such a very bad state,” he said.

“The families up here suffer very badly due to the road, it’s bad for the cars and no matter how slow you drive, it gets very dusty.

“One would expect that as you get closer to the main road then it will become better but it’s still bad. Only when you finally reach the coastal road will you be able to drive normally.

“The government should really consider helping this part of the village because there are a lot of families living up here.”

Fatataua’i also said that their candidate in this year’s election promised them so many things to fix their problems, but did not keep their word.

“Even our constituency candidate during the election promised that help will come in regards to the road problem but nothing has come,” he said.

“The road is still a mess and the water doesn’t even reach up here. One of the problems we face here is that the cars of the families living up here are starting to get badly damaged  from the bumps.

“If you want to buy a new car and you live here, it will be ruined not long after you purchase it. It makes travelling out and into the village a real pain for us.”

Furthermore, Fatataua’i commended the observer for giving them the voice they really needed.

“You know, I commend your company for coming and giving us a chance to voice problems,” he said.

“Problems that we are facing are always overlooked and this opportunity will help us get the message out there. We have been going through many struggles throughout the past years.

“As you can see as you drove into the village, we are doing alright in some areas but it seems that the basic problems with the road and water are the biggest problems we villagers face here in Tufulele-Uta.”

By Vatapuia Maiava and Ilia L. Likou 20 October 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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