Living within her means has so long been part of Nima Nuusa’s life. 

The mother of seven from Afega needs so much in life, only because it would make life more convenient for her. 

She has lived in a rundown shack for nine years and now she has to raise four children under the same roof. 

Two of her children are in New Zealand and one lives with their grandparents.  

 Mrs. Nuusa shares using water seal toilet with no roof is hard. Not only that, Tropical Cyclone Gita also damaged their house. 

Their iron roofing was blown away with floodwaters entering their home.

Speaking to the Village Voice team she shares her main concern is the welfare of her children.

“The thing is there are so many of us who live together. We have to live within our means. I am worried now that the weather is becoming bad again, we just don’t know what to do,” Mrs. Nuusa, 46, said.

“This has been a challenge that we have been facing. The floodwaters usually enter our house and we had to relocate. The water level went above our knees.”

“We have tried to solve the problem with our roof by using the iron roofing of our toilet.”   

 “Even though we have used the iron roofing of our toilet, the house still leaks. I feel sorry for my young children.” 

“Life is hard and there is no simple way out of it. We have searched for help and the Red Cross people were kind enough to give us tarpaulins.”

“Cyclone Gita ruined not only our house but also our plantation. We mostly rely on the land for nourishment.”

“Now we have to regrow all our tomatoes and vegetables. Everything that we grow here is not just for us but also my husband’s parents.”

“They have aged as well and we have our other kid who lives with them and looks after them,” she adds.

Her son is the only one who works in their family. He works as a groundsman and earns $80, which is not enough to feed a family of 10.

“There are certain times when he only gets $50 a week because he would only work for three days. With his job, it depends on the weather, so when it rains he would only work for three days.”

Mrs. Nuusa used to work but had to stop for her children’s sake. 

She says as a mother there is nothing more important to her than her children. 

For anyone who is willing to help Mrs. Nuusa’s family, contact the number 7749937.