No water, electricity for family living in shack

By Sina Filifilia Seva’aetasi 21 April 2017, 12:00AM

Life is not easy for Suiga Iakopo.

The mother of two from Tapatapaō told of the challenges they face during an interview with the Village Voice yesterday.

The 54-year-old and her husband are farmers.

But the returns on their taro plantation are a source of disappointment.

 “As you can see, my husband just got back from the market,” she said.

“He went to sell taro to make sure we have enough money for the following day and especially for our children’s’ education with the term starting next week.”

Asked if he earns enough money, she said no.

“You see, the market is so slow now. There are too many taro, bananas and if we don’t drop our prices, we wont sell anything.

“So today I sold our baskets of taro for only $10 because that is our only option.

“With this kind of money, we don’t make much.”

But she has goals.

She wants her family to have water and electricity for instance.

“We don’t have a steady water supply and we do not access electricity. That’s the hardest thing here. 

“My husband and I have been asking the government officials for water but they keep telling us they will look into it and yet they never did.”

 “This is why I’m asking anyone to help us out.

“We always ask around the neighbourhood for water and this is sometimes embarrassing.” 

Another thing that bothers the mother is their house. 

“As you can see, it’s not much,” she said pointing to their shack.

“We are looking at a way to rebuild our house, because this house is not safe.”

By Sina Filifilia Seva’aetasi 21 April 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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