Life is great except when it comes to water supply

By Talimalie Uta 07 September 2017, 12:00AM

Meet Lafaele Telea.

The 50-year-old is a father of five who lives in Samusu.

When the Village Voice caught up with him yesterday, he was on his way to his plantation and to feed his pigs.

Asked how life was for him and his family, he did not seem troubled.

“Life is great,” he said.

“We have food and that’s what matters.

 “Us living in the villages, we are used to the plantation life. It is a source of food and money and that’s why we can never stop doing it.”

Lafaele’s five children are in school.

 “I am unemployed and so is the mother of our family,” he said. 

“But in terms of financial issues, as I have mentioned before, the plantation is our only source of income.

“Usually we sell our vegetables and taro at the market for money to pay off my children’s school fees. You know, children will always be our number one priority.”

The only issue he has is water.

“To be honest, we have access to water,” he said.

“The issue is that it is inconstant. It only runs for two or three hours a day and then it stops.

 “It disappoints me so much especially when it is out for two to three days.

“When we run out of water we have to fetch it from families who have water. Some of them live far from where we live so it is not an easy job. It is a very tiring task.”

The task is made more difficult without a car.

“Not every family has a car to fetch water like us,” he said. 

“Therefore when this happens we use cart water back and forth. It’s hard but someone has to do it.”

But with every challenge comes an opportunity to learn.

 “When the water comes on, we fill up our gallons with water,” he said.

“We work hard to ensure we have enough water to last us until the water supply returns.”

By Talimalie Uta 07 September 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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