Water needs trump all for Sanelivi’s family

By Nefertiti Matatia 22 February 2018, 12:00AM

For more than 30 years, Sanelivi Fuamaila still struggles without proper water supply.

This is despite being one of the first settlers of Satapuala.

Being injured for more than 10 years and walking a great distance to fetch water is an added burden for the 43-year-old.

“I fell from a breadfruit tree 10 years ago and half of my body does not work well, so to walk and fetch water from the village water tank is not an easy task, especially when the water tank is quite far from where I live,” Mr. Fuamaila shared with the Village Voice team. 

“The way it is now, each person is looking for a way to live, there is no water supply in my home which is why we rely on the massive water tank that belongs to our village.”

If he had a stable financial source, he said, he would have bought a water tank a long time ago. 

“There is no water tank as well and we are not like the other families that can afford vehicles to get their water, we don’t have a wheelbarrow either,” said Mr. Fuamaila.

He explained his family makes two trips to collect water, in the morning for their daily chores and evening for their drinking water. 

“If there is one person who goes to get the water they have to go twice or three times.

“We all shower there and fill our buckets of water before heading home,” he said.

Mr. Fuamaila is pleading with Government to consider the plight of the people in Satapuala who live without proper water connection for so long. 

Even without a wife and kid, life is still a struggle because he lives in a rundown house that poses great risk to his life during rainy days or cyclones. 

The roof of his house is covered with plastic papers together with pieces of boxes which he uses to prevent the rain from entering the house and the electrical wiring in his house is also a risk during rainy days. 

“My house needs a lot of maintenance, where the electrical wires are is not safe.

“There are leaks on the roof of the house and the floor is starting to decay because it is really old, but I can’t replace it because I do not have a job or even have the same strength I used to have back in the days.”

He understands that money is everything nowadays. 

And with his nephew as the sole earner for a family of 10, this creates more financial constraints.

“I live with my sister’s family as well as my brother and his family. We all live together in the same area and there is only one person who works.”

He wishes for a radio and torch, but unfortunately this can only be a desire because of financial problems.

“I want to have a radio so I can know what is happening around Samoa, especially when a natural disaster is about to strike and a torch to help me when I walk back from collecting water.”

For anyone willing to help Mr. Fuamaila, please contact the number 7614958.

By Nefertiti Matatia 22 February 2018, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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