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What is Hardship?Most said their situation is now becoming worse again To learn about the people’s perceptions of poverty and hardship, the assessment team talked with about 250 people throughout the country. When asked to define poverty, people used the Tuvaluan term mativa (meaning having nothing, such as land, money, and other resources). Olaga Faigata was the term used for hardship (meaning living in a very difficult situation; living in a thatched roofed house; earning money and gathering food through hard labor; being dependent on relatives for food, money, and shelter; and supporting too many dependents in the household). When asked if things had become better or worse over the past 5 years, most communities surveyed said 3–5 years ago their situation improved due to better access to some basic services, but that it was becoming worse again due to the deterioration of these services . The improvement was due to many homes becoming connected to power and telephone services, construction of water cisterns and distribution of water tanks, and construction of a health clinic and primary school on each of the outer islands. In the urban areas, having the road tar-sealed and extended throughout the island capital was seen as an important improvement.
Young Woman, 18 Years Old
“I was born in Nukulaelae and lived with my parents, two sisters and two brothers. Our eldest sister got married and moved with her husband to another island. My two younger sisters are in primary school. I went to our secondary school here, however I failed my Form 4 exams, so I did not continue my schooling. My parents, two brothers, and me are not working. One of my brothers was a seafarer, however, he only went overseas once." “The only source of income we have is from my mother selling bread. Her profit is only $50 a week, which is not enough to meet our basic needs considering the high cost of goods, e.g., rice is A$1.00, sugar $1.30 and flour $1.05. To supplement our income, we also harvest local food from some of our lands. There are some land disputes between my family and our extended family so we only have limited use of our lands. I have a cousin sister in the Marshall Islands, who is trying to get me to the Marshall Islands so I can find a job. However, she still hasn't confirmed that plan yet and in the meantime I stay home and do the laundry, clean the house, and help my mum. “In the future, I want my family to have a proper modern house so we can live happily. I also want to get a job so I can help my family financially, especially for my sisters to have a good education, so they can assist our family too. “It is very important to establish a vocational school not only for our community, but also for the whole of Tuvalu. In this way, jobless youth like me can be trained and expand our skills and help improve the well-being of families and the community.”
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