The life of 39-year-old Losi Tusauai and his family revolves around two white stained buckets that sit in front of his house at Tuana'i village on the north coast of Upolu.

The two buckets are life-savers for the family – they are used by their father every day to fetch 10 buckets of water for his family’s use.

Just like their cook house, which also passes as the family’s home, having access to water on a daily basis keeps them going.

Their home, designed like a traditional Samoan fale, has corrugated iron roof and is built on wooden posts. 

It does not have walls except for old cloth hanging on the sides of the wooden rail, nailed across the wooden posts to stop children from falling out, but barely enough to protect them during heavy rain.

But access to water is their biggest challenge with Tusauai revealing that there is an outstanding water bill of $2,000 which needs to be paid before any attempts can be made to address the issue for the long-term.

“It is because of an unpaid water bill that a family who lived before on our land had left behind after moving,” he said. “Because there is no stable source of income for our family we cannot afford such a large amount of money, we do not even possess that much money.”

Reiterating that water is life, Tusauai added that he has a small family which keeps growing and water is essential for them. 

“For any family, water is life and we need it to survive but we are but a small developing family. The water is used for so many things and because we have so many children we are always in need of it.”

Fetching 10 buckets of water daily can be an arduous task, but it is the return of the 2020 academic year that also comes with its own challenges for Tusauai and his wife.

“Life was easier because the children did not have school but now that another academic year has begun, the children need to get ready early in the morning,” he said. “My wife and I are unemployed, our family depends on our plantation for our source of food and we also try and sell some bananas or taro to get some money for certain necessities like looking after the family.”

If you are willing to help the family of Tusauai from Tuana'i please contact the number: 7282633.