Lisi Toma of Vailele and Malie dreams of the day when they have their own steady supply of running water.

The 56-year-old mother looks after her grandchildren.

The main problem they’re facing is having no water of their own.

“Water is what we are struggling to find. It’s something we are praying for,” she told the Village Voice.

“For me, taking care of my grandchildren is not a difficult task. It’s fetching of water that’s difficult.”

“It’s not easy to try and live everyday and at the same time while doing your usual chores; you have to remind yourself to fetch water because I have kids at home.”

“That is why I have made this one of my main responsibilities everyday because we don’t have a water tank, gallons or any big containers to store water in so we just use what we have; our pots and buckets.”

“My brother who lives across the road is where we get water from and it’s a good thing he’s my brother because imagine if it was someone else, they would probably get tired of us coming over for water all the time.

Lisi said they have been coping with this situation for a while.

When Village Voice asked if they have discussed this issue with the Samoa Water Authority, Lisi said she does not know.

“My children are the ones who are working so they are the only ones who understand situations as that.

“I’m getting older and my understanding of things is limited.”

“I just know that we really need water, I need water so I can be able to sleep at night and looking forward to another day, knowing that we have already got our own water.” 

“But that’s only a dream.”

“That’s why I’m asking for help in this matter because getting water is not easy.”