Elderly grandmother desperate for water supply

By Aruna Lolani 07 July 2017, 12:00AM

An elderly grandmother, Fuala’au Mulipu, 74, from the village of Fasito’o-tai, can endure many hardships in life but living without water is a serious struggle. 

The family relies solely on fetching water from their neighbours to survive.

“We’ve lived here for years now and this has been a huge problem since then,” she explained to the Village Voice. 

“We also just got back from fetching water just now. I’ve been trying my very best to get us a water tank but till now, we don’t have one. 

 “It’s been ages since we reported the problem to the Water Authority, and they said the pipe lines can’t reach our area here. So until now this can’t be fixed.  

“So we humbly request for someone to help us with this matter.” 

The elderly woman says they are desperate for water.

 “To be honest, it’s hard work trying to look for water, because when the kids and everyone leaves home, I go down myself and fetch water.

“It’s one of my daily chores because I can’t let my small children go and fetch water. 

“This is why I miss my son who passed away a month ago because he was the one who carried bins of water to our home. I miss him so much. 

 “As you can see, we only have buckets to store water. We are in need of at least a water tank or a pipe for water of our own because of the children’s schooling, and especially for food.

“The other issue we have is in regards to not having enough money.” 

With only one provider, the family struggles to make ends meet with the little they make. 

“My late son was the second eldest and was also the one who worked on the plantation. He’s now gone and I have stepped in to do the work,” she said.

“The help from the plantation is all we have to survive on. We are also still trying to develop our house here.

“We have our other house and land on the other side but the father and I prefer living here because we have our plantation around our home. 

“On the coastal areas you have to make your way inland to fetch taro but over here you just walk over there, get the taro and then cook it. 

“My family doesn’t go hungry at all.

“To be honest we can make do with what we have but what is needed the most is our own water supply or storage. 

 “Everything is good; we only have issues with the water supply. That’s all. 

The family can be contacted through 7746079 if you can help them.

By Aruna Lolani 07 July 2017, 12:00AM

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