Nakavika villagers in Seaqaqa rejoiced at the com­missioning of their water project by Minister for Infrastruc­ture Jone Usamate on Thursday.

“There are 27 households with a population of 168 people who will now enjoy clean water,” Pio Du­lenivosa, the village headman, said.

“We would like to thank the Gov­ernment for its assistance and the Water Authority of Fiji for supply­ing the pipes.

“It is also the first time for us to have an official visit by a minister.”

Meanwhile, the youngest of five girls in the village, Luisa Dibalawa, recalled that in 1984 they had in­stalled a water tank to service wa­ter from the nearby bore hole.

“Now it’s safe to drink water and easy for young mothers to wash at their homes instead of going downstream like we did during my time,” Ms Dibalawa said.

“Before any assistance came we had to collect water from the stream and stored it in bamboos for drinking and for preparation of food.

“We also were able to have a sep­tic tank for each household instead of four houses sharing one like be­fore.”

Minister for Infrastructure Jone Usamate was delighted to commis­sion the water project that will sup­ply everyone in the rural area of Nakavika Village with a reliable flow of clean water.

“Every Fijian deserves to live with the security and happiness that clean water can provide; wa­ter that can be used for drinking, cooking, washing and keeping our­selves clean,”Mr Usamate said.

“This is a victory for every mem­ber of your community. It is a special victory for the people of Nakavika and for your children as well, who can now grow up with the comfort of reliable access to clean water.”

Edited by Percy Kean

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