Swire Shipping Fijian Drua winger Taniela Rakuro’s dazzling speed helped his team win games for Fiji on many occasions.
But unknown to the rugby world is the young man’s long struggle with water, a burden that he grew up with and has remained to this day.
On Wednesday, the young man took time off from his hectic training schedule in Nadi to help his elders campaign for clean and healthy drinking water.
Rakuro hails from the village of Vusama in Nadroga.
For generations, his people had been fighting a winless battle to help get piped water to the village.
Today, villagers use bullocks to cart drums on wooden sleighs called qasita from two wells beside the village to their homes.
They used to get water from a borehole in the past but its use was stopped by the Ministry of Health more than 10 years ago.
“My people have been asking authorities for decades to install piped water in Vusama but their cries have fallen on deaf ears.
“My grandparents and parents drank water from the well. As a young I struggled with water problems and I continue to face the same problems as a young man. On behalf of my village I would like to call on Government to please help us.”
He said with clean drinking water, Vusama children would grow strong and healthy and many may follow his footsteps in rugby.
Former village headman and civil servant, Saula Nadokonivalu said while Government has stepped in by carting 2000 litre worth of water to the village, this happens fortnightly.
“When water dries up in our tanks and trucks don’t come we are forced to fetch water from the two wells which infested with frogs,” he said.
“We’ve had many cases of skin diseases and stomach infections. Six people had been taken to hospital in the past because of water-borne disease. The youngest to be admitted was a three-year-old child.”
Taione Lua, 65, said tourists visited Vusama three days a week.
This contributed to village development but the economic opportunity could be lost if the persistent water problems and worsening road conditions continued.
“We are being affected by poor hygiene and health because we do not have a clean supply of drinking water,” he said.
“During dry weather, when our wells dry up, we have to get water from a closed borehole and women have to wash our clothes in the Tuva River, a few kilometres from here.
“When it rains heavily, water from our pit toilets seeps back into the well, making water unsafe for drinking.”
Alena Mata, 87, said because of water problems, she had to walk a few metres to the nearest toilet outside her home.
“It has always been my dream to have water from a tap and I look forward to that day. Right now, I can only plead with authorities to bring water to Vusama homes.
“Because we don’t have piped water, we cannot have flushed toilets and old people like me will continue to be disadvantaged.”
Villagers confirmed that Minister for Public Works and Transport, Ro Filipe Tuisawau visited the village on Tuesday and assured them that he would look into Vusama’s water woes as a matter of priority.
But for Vusama villagers, who had been given the same promise for decades, only time will tell.
They only hope this time, their wait will not be in vain.
