Mariana Kinikinilau says she has to make excuses to her children’s teachers for their absenteeism and it’s all because of the lack of access to clean and treated water.
Ms Kinikinilau is among the 100 families at the Tavakubu Back Rd settlement that have raised concerns about the lack of water and no provision of carted supply by the Water Authority of Fiji.
“I can’t keep telling the teachers that my two kids are absent because of water problem so I just say that they are sick,” Ms Kinikinilau said.
“When we call WAF, sometimes they tell us to use rain water, to use the water that’s been stored in containers for long but I can’t do that.
“Most of the time, mosquitoes breed in this water and we can’t risk giving our children dirty water or else they will get sick.”
She said most times, her children’s uniforms could not be washed and that meant no school yet again.
Ms Kinikinilau said when they had money to spare, they would contribute towards the cost of a carrier to wash their dirty clothes in the Abaca River.
The Water Authority of Fiji said they were looking into the claims made by the residents and would formulate a response.
