Family needs help with water

By Nefertiti Matatia 25 January 2018, 12:00AM

Forty-year-old Fuapepe Siavao is desperate for a water tank. The mother of three from Lotofaga-uta says she needs assistance because she cannot afford it.

“We really need a tank,” she said. 

“It is really hard for us since we do not have a tank. The other thing is that the water pipe connection can’t reach our house because we live far from the main road and also it will cost us money too to get a connection.”

Mrs. Siavao mentioned that having a tank would be a great help for her children because it saves the hassle of walking to their neighbour’s house to fetch water.

She says they have bought two gallons to help them with water storage.  

For Mrs. Siavao, life is a struggle because her family needs to budget her husband’s earnings, which is always not enough.  

“My husband works but he does not earn much. When it reaches Sunday, his pay is usually gone; we usually spend money on food, cash power and his bus fare for work. He gets paid $130 weekly and it is never enough,” she added.

Mrs. Siavao said her brother in overseas had sent over money that enabled them to have electricity connection supplied to their home. 

They have been living in their home since 2010 and the increasing cost of living experienced every year leaves them with debts in their local store.

“There is a major increase in the cost of living and there has been a change. Whenever I go to buy some things from the shop that is when you realize how expensive the products are.” 

“That is another thing where most of the money goes to, paying off our debt at the store.”

Mrs. Siavao says she could have applied for a job to help her family but her eldest child and the condition that he is in is the reason she opted to stay home. 

According to Mrs. Siavao, her son was born a healthy boy until when he became ill and was admitted at the hospital. 

“It was the medicine from the hospital when he had IV’s on both sides of his head which had affected his brain. It was when he got discharged from the hospital when we noticed the changes, like he became crazy.”

“My eldest child has special needs, he used to attend Loto Taumafai, but kids there usually teased him and when that happens, he becomes very upset so I thought to myself might as well stop him from going to school.”

She believes that home school for her 15-year-old son is the best that she could give him because sending him to school will make his situation worse with kids mocking him.

Mrs. Siavao says she it is not just her son who she is worried about, but also her two young daughters.

“The wellbeing of my daughters is important too since they are both in school and they are still young, so I need to look after them because one is in primary school while the other is in kindergarten.”

For anyone who is willing to help Mrs. Siavao, contact the phone number 7208412.

By Nefertiti Matatia 25 January 2018, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>