Poverty is an issue faced by many families in Samoa today.

For one Fuga Uelese, she is not ashamed to say it.

The mother of six tells the Village Voice life has become so much harder especially with the lack of money.

“We are so poor that even our water has been disconnected. We are currently using our neighbour’s tap water to carry out our daily chores,” Fuga said.

She added they were looking for some money to repay their neighbour’s generosity but sadly they do not have enough.

Fuga from Nu’u said both her and her husband did not have any stable jobs to help sustain their family financially.

“My husband fixes lights, so he will only get paid when he gets a call to work. I go through the same thing. It is only when a patient needs a massage that there is a possibility of income,” said Fuga.

Only three of her children are living with them.

One child is employed, now into the first week of his job. 

However Fuga added their son’s income was still not enough to cater for their family’s essential needs.

“I appreciate my son and his help for our family but it is still not enough money for us. The cost of living nowadays is very high. We have more than just our children to look after.”

Fuga also emphasized the struggles of not having enough and having more than just their children to look after.

“It is a struggle especially when we have our other child attending school and we also have our grandmother who lives with us. 

“Now that our water has been disconnected, things just become more complicated. The cost of living is very expensive we can’t stretch our budget any further.”