Government should do something

By Aruna Lolani 14 July 2017, 12:00AM

This is Lalio Toetu of Fasito’o uta.

He is a 29 year old farmer who was approached by Village Voice yesterday while he was cutting the grass in his plantation. 

Mr. Toetu is not only a farmer but also a family man; one of his main responsibilities is taking care of his parents.

“I only have one sibling; and that is my eldest sister,” he told the Village Voice team.

“My sister works but I look after my elderly parents every day; I even provide for them.

“My life doesn’t have much to it compared to other people because I’ve never been formally employed before, I mean I am only a farmer after all.

“So besides money from my sister’s job, we depend mostly on food from the plantation and also any help we can get from our families in overseas countries.

“My focus in life is on my parents and my plantation.”

Mr.Toetu has a five acre plantation and while that’s something he’s happy about, he admitted that there are problems.  

“I think the problems that I’m facing include having no one to help me with cleaning up my plantation, a job I need help with most of the time, and also the fact that there is no water here in the forestry area; by that I mean where the plantations are.

“I mean I stay in the inner village but I come here every day because to me, this is not only my work, this is my life as well.

“My koko Samoa and bananas are my life.

“And just like people, plants need water as well to survive.

“In this area, you can see most families are using water tanks because the government’s water doesn’t reach here and it’s something that they struggle with.  “I guess what I’m trying to say is that these issues aren’t something the government should belittle because everyone and every living thing needs water and they need help.

“This is good for our future and honestly I’ve been wanting to have my own place here to be close to my plantation but the thought of always having no water in this area just scares me.

“So water help is needed please and the government should do something about it.”

By Aruna Lolani 14 July 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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