Caption: Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management Hon. Sakiasi Ditoka with villagers of Nacamaki at the commissioning of the Nacamaki Village Ecological Purification System (EPS) Water Project on Koro Island in June this year.
LOMAIVITI – Villagers of Nacamaki in the district of Mudu in Koro no longer have to worry about contracting any health issue as a result of the water they consume daily.
This after Government, through the Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management stepped in to assist the village with their Ecological Purification System (EPS).
Nacamaki Village headman Mr. Selesitino Naqarase said the improvement to their drinking water has been an “answered prayer”.
“We even did not believe that this day would come that we will be able to drink safe and clean water daily. In the past, we’ve had authorities come in to close our previous water source as they had received a lot of health cases arising from the consumption of untreated water,” said Mr Naqarase.
Grandmother Ms. Anareta Dicagi says in the past, villagers especially women were always worried about the implications of drinking untreated water on the health of their household members.
But the improvement to their water system, she said has brought much relief to them.
“I was born and raised here and since then, we have been drinking untreated water. Today, we are very, very happy that we are able to also have access to clean and safe water for drinking,” said the 68-year-old.
The Nacamaki EPS Project was completed under the Ministry of Rural and Maritime and Disaster Management’s High Risk Water Programme at a cost of $45,000.
More than 300 people from 52 households are expected to benefit from this investment by Government.
“We couldn’t believe that this day would come that we will be able to drink clean filtered water in the village. We are very blessed that this help had come to us, and we are really grateful to Government for this much needed assistance,” Mr Naqarase added.
“This new development in the village has other benefits as well. One is, villagers will now be able to save the $80 they previously used to fork out of their pockets to transport a sick family member to Nasau due to illness caused by drinking untreated water.”
The objective of this project is to naturally purify the current water supply system to ensure the provision of safe and clean drinking water to the community in Nacamaki.
In commissioning the project, Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management Hon. Sakiasi Ditoka stated that with water being a basic human right, Government was working to ensure that all communities in Fiji have access to clean and safe drinking water in line with our global commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Caption: Ms. Anareta Dicagi and Mrs Tirisa Sobuimua of Nacamaki Village are grateful that Government has assisted them with the improvement to their water source to enable them to access clean, safe and quality drinking water.
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The Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management is responsible for implementing development strategies that bring Fijians living in rural and maritime regions the same level of access to essential services and economic opportunities as anywhere else in the country. We coordinate and implement the Fiji Government’s rural and maritime development initiatives with a mission to empower Fiji’s rural sector. We also spearhead disaster risk reduction initiatives at national and sub-national level including disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. We have offices for each of Fiji’s 14 provinces including Rotuma, leading the Fiji Government’s rural development and disaster risk management operations.
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