JOSAIA RALAGO
Sixty-year-old Losalini Levu of Nukusa Village in Udu excitedly turned the tap on out-side her home, cupped her hands allowing cool, fresh and clean water to fill up before she took a sip.
“Ah so refreshing,” were her first words after quenching her thirst.
Mrs Levu and the rest of the villagers now have access to clean, safe and quality drinking water brought to their homes by the Government after years of suffering.
“We used to walk for a good two kilometres outside the village to get water from a spring during drought, and even on good days we used to get intermittent water supply,” she said.
“This was not easy feat because we needed water for drinking, bathing, cleaning and cooking. Water is life and in order to obtain this proved to be very difficult at times.”
Mrs Levu, who is now a widow and a grandmother, said the possibility of having consistent water supply has been a dream for generations.
“From when I got married here some four decades ago, water has always been a problem and our elders then have been doing their best to provide us with this.”
“We are happy that our children and grandchildren are now blessed with this, all thanks to the Government.”
“We have seen more than just the improvement of water but we have recently been granted solar power by the Fijian Government and now the construction of the road to Duavata Secondary School.”
“I am so thankful to Government for these, for ensuring that we too in rural and maritime areas are not forgotten development wise.”