Thirty-six-year-old Neli Talalelei of Siumu prays a good Samaritan will assist build a new home for her family. 

Living in a Samoan designed house that is an open plan with no walls and a corrugated iron roof held up by wooden posts, her family's living condition continues to be challenged and they fear being stricken by another cyclone. 

“Our family has lived here on my family’s land for over two years but everything changed when Samoa was struck by Cyclone Evan.

“The cyclone completely destroyed our home which left us with nothing, but everything happens for a reason and we had to move on so we tried to rebuild with what was left over.

“I am always saddened when I look at my kids and see the home they have to live in, our house is not in good condition but we have nowhere else to live,” she said.

Sitting in her house with some of her children when the Sunday Samoan visited her, she said it was always a struggle during rainy days.

“If it rains, water can get inside our house because the roof leaks, the tarpaulins have holes so despite us using it, rain can still get inside the house.

“During night times, there are times when centipedes crawl and bite us as we sleep because the floor is made of rocks and soil, it is not cemented or made on higher grounds.

“I sometimes cry myself to sleep at night, thinking about how I can provide a better home for my kids but that is not possible because I am not rich, we do not have financial support,” she added.

Her husband does a number of jobs including menial labour and if he is lucky he makes $30 a day. 

“My husband provides for our family through any jobs he can find, it may not be a permanent job but during times when we are lucky, he earns $30 a day which is prioritized for food.

“But another constant struggle is sending the kids to school; we have six kids that attend school, two in college and four in primary plus the two infants.

“We also depend on our plantation for food if we have nothing which we are very grateful for everything we have,” she told the Sunday Samoan. 

She also said that their family has never been had water accessibility ever since they lived there.

“We never had water accessibility since we lived here but it is very helpful that we use a small tank.

"At the end of the day, as a mother and a parent we want the best for our kids which is why we sometimes have to live with the difficulties and be grateful for the gift of life.”

Another problem is that we do not have a proper toilet which is another struggle for our family

If you are willing to help the family of Neli Talalelei from Siumu please contact the number: 7628846.