Families await water supply

By Deidre Tautua-Fanene 04 January 2018, 12:00AM

For ten years, the Chadwick family of Aleisa Sasa’e has never experienced the joy of having tap water. 

Yesterday, Taylor Chadwick, 47, voiced his frustrations to the Village Voice team.

The father of nine said they were not the only ones. A handful of families in the area struggled with the same issue.

 “There are a lot of families who have moved up here since the 2009 tsunami, so the population of the area is growing, but we have not had the chance to have access to running water,” he said.

“The water supply ends at one of the two corners down the mainland, so all the families living after that face this problem.

“There was a project by the government that came around sometime last year for all families here to have access to water, however it didn’t reach up here.

“When we asked the ministry, they told us that the money that was given for this project is all finished and so we will have to wait for another similar project to come around.

“This was just a silly explanation, I mean how can the government not have enough money for such important project, when yet we see almost every month there are new buildings being built here and there.

“This is just ridiculous.”

Mr. Chadwick says it’s okay to not have electricity, but having no water is something that the government really needs to look into.

“We need water in our everyday lives, especially for drinking.

“I just thank God for the rain because we are able to have water, but when the rainy season ends, then we face the same old problem again.

“It’s a very far to walk down the mainland to fetch water because the road is so bad and there are bushes everywhere, which makes it dangerous as well.

“It’s okay for families who have vehicles, they can just go and fetch water, but for us it’s very hard.”

Mr. Chadwick said his family had requested for water.

“We went to the Water Authority and did all the requirements for us to have water,” he said.

“However, we got the answer from them saying we cannot have water up here because this place has not been passed because it’s too far and so there we will not be able to have access to water.

“If this is the problem, then at least give us water tanks so that we can be able to store water.”

If you want to help or donate to the Chadwick family please contact them on mobile phone number 7756329.

By Deidre Tautua-Fanene 04 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.

>