Now that 23 houses in Vuadomo Village will benefit from the newly opened water project, the villager’s oldest man feels a great deal of relief from the struggles they had to endure in the past.

Setareki Wainiu, 89, shed tears of joy as he described the difficulties the village’s women previously went through in order to do their daily chores.

Happy with the work that Government had provided for them, Mr Wainiu said: “I am thankful to the leaders for thinking of us. Our women fetch water from the creek to wash clothes and dishes, but now everything has changed.

“The smiles we saw on the faces of our women were satisfying. We will never forget this day.”

Opened by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, he said 150 individuals in Vuadomo would benefit from the water project yesterday.

Mr Bainimarama said: “This project is part of Government’s ongoing efforts to provide safe drinking water to 36,458 Fijians in over 178 villages, settlements and schools in the 2017-2018 financial year. To deliver this strategy, Government had allocated $27.3 million for this initiative.

“This is a boost to the village given that the existing water system was constructed in the 1970s with only three stand pipes shared by the village. I would like to thank Ariyan Contractor and all those involved in the facilitation of this project.”

Edited by Jonathan Bryce

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