The struggle of having to deal with unclean and unsanitary water that was being supplied to over half of the population of Laulii village as well as its primary school has been solved.

The school committee who are also members of the village committee spent over $100,000 installing new pipelines, built up new water catchments connected from springs in the mountains and supplied filtered water to its residents and the school.

In May of this year, the Laulii Primary School was advised by the Ministry of Education Sports and Culture (M.E.S.C.) to keep students at home until the water is fixed and this was not the first time it happened.

In an interview with the Samoa Observer, the school principal, Tepatasi Tosolina explained that the school only closed for four days prior to its school break and as per advice from the ministry.

"We're really grateful to the committee for trying their best to fix the water and making sure the students consume clean water," she said.

According to the principal, the committee had supplied 20 water bottles a week to the school throughout the whole of the second term and after the school was advised to close.

A total of 400 students and 34 staff are educated and employed at Laulii primary school.

Having to cope with the constant experience of unclean water especially during heavy rains, the students are used to bringing their own water bottles to school for years as per advice from the staff and parents.

The principal also added that the unfiltered water that was usually supplied to the school before the new water system was installed, was still being consumed by the students when it's clear.

Meanwhile, it has been two months now since the water has been upgraded through the installation of the new water tanks, catchments and pipelines.

The principal added that the school will now expand its fountains in the school now that the water is clean.

One of the village high chiefs, Leniu Vainiu Te'o also told this newspaper that the new water system in the village is a great boost for the residents especially the school.

"With the old water system, the water was always dirty when it rains heavily but with the new tanks and catchments built now, trust the water to be clean every time and it's filtered despite that it's not metered government water," he explained.

The water is supplied from springs in the mountains through pipelines, stored into water catchments which are cleaned monthly by the village, supplied to water tanks at the school as well as to the families. The old water system used  the waterfall which was supplied to a bigger water catchment which supplied dirty water.

"With the new catchment, there's a filtration system at the bottom that even when it rains heavily, the dirt will be stored at the bottom while clean water at top is supplied to the school and residents," Leniu added.

This newspaper paid a visit to the school on Friday as well as the new water catchments that supplies water to the school and residents.

When the school was advised to close, a concerned parent, who expressed concern at the frequent shutdown but asked to remain anonymous due to fears of being banished, contacted this newspaper to alert the newspaper to the plight of the school and its students. 

She said she was worried that her children's learning has been greatly impacted because of the closure of the school. 

The school had sought the assistance of the village's leadership – to have access to a good supply of clean water for the school to avoid further closures – but to no avail. 

The Acting C.E.O. of the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Culture, Tu'umatavai Vau Peseta confirmed in response to questions from this newspaper at the time that the decision to shut the school was based on "no water". 

Last December the village of Lauli'i Independent Water Scheme, a community-managed water scheme, launched its new water intake to capture and supply water to the majority of its residents. 

The community-led project was made possible through a  partnership between Laulii I.W.S., LJ Company and China Harbour Engineering Company. 

The works were conducted by LJ Company which consisted of the construction of a new water intake and also the laying of a new 1km transmission polyethylene pipeline. The project was funded by China Harbour Engineering Company at the cost of about SAT$500,000. 

It was also revealed at the launch that the village has plans to utilise its District Development Funds for other water-related initiatives. According to the S.B.S. 2021 census, the population of Laulii IWS is 2,217 with 51 per cent male and 49 per cent female.

Earlier in January of this year, the Member of Parliament for Vaimauga No.1. Sulamanaia Tauiliili called for the continuous filtration of the water used by residents in Lauli'i and other nearby villages.