SHE is known as the water carrier on the island and one just has to see her to know why she is given this nickname.
For Tokasa Selai, 64, who is originally from Vuo on the mainland and married in Ligaulevu Village on Mali Island, travelling to the well to get clean drinking water is a ritual that she carries out every day for her 10 grandchildren who live with her.
She says her daily excursion to and from the well at least 10 times a day is something that has helped her to maintain her weight and keep fit.
For a woman her age, one can only notice the dash of her signature white Fijian hairstyle as she flashes across the village green with her grandchildren to draw water from the well.
“We need water for life and there is nothing more we can do but to run to the well to live,” she said with a smile.
Another elderly woman in the village, Merewalesi Divosi said she was still using water from the village water tank to have her bath daily.
The 74-year-old said she could not travel far to the well because of a condition that has affected her legs, but with the aid of a stick she could limp to the well daily to get her bucket of water to bath.
“Water problem has been forever plaguing us and something needs to be done to address the issue,” she said.
