Ten is a crowd and a challenge

By Nefertiti Matatia 15 July 2018, 12:00AM

Ten can be a crowd for a family living in a shack in Vaitele and Tuluina Tavita’s challenges are compounded by her lack of employment.

Twenty-three-year-old Tuluina has a toddler and lives with her mother and brothers and has found life challenging after they moved to Vaitele from Savai’i following her father’s passing in 2014. 

She always worries about her children and their future, knowing that living in an overcrowded house makes her baby vulnerable to airborne diseases. 

“This is the only house that we were able to build so that we could move into. My brother came and bought this piece of land and built this place just so we could have a house. We have been living here for more than a year now and we really need a proper home for our family because there are so many of us and we all try to fit in here,” Tuluina told the Village Voice team.

“The kitchen is just right next to where we sleep. This is an open Samoan house and we all try to make space for the other. My mother, brothers and myself and my little family live here. In this kind of situation there are so many things that could happen – airborne diseases spread quickly and it is a concern when there is a newborn in the house.”

Tuluina used to work but then she had to stop because of her baby.

“I really wish I could help my family and the situation that we are in because nowadays life is hard. If people do not work, then there is no certainty that there would be food on the table. My baby is now only four months and in our family there are seven adults and three children who live here. We have only one kid who is in school, while the rest are all toddlers.”

For anyone who is willing to help Tuluina and her family, contact mobile phone number 7283811.

To offer assistance, Help Samoa is offering free scheduled delivery to all Upolu Village Voice families.


 

By Nefertiti Matatia 15 July 2018, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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