The Fijian settlement consumed by the tide

The Veidogo settlement on the outskirts of Fiji's capital is on the front line of climate change with the impoverished community flooding every time the tide comes in.

The water laps against the floorboards when it's high tide despite the houses being on stilts.

Deep puddles remain in the main passageways after flooding last year and despite efforts to dispel the water by digging drains, the levels haven't receded.

The grass doesn't grow anymore and the kids have little room to play. When the tide rises, people are confined to their houses and often fish out their front doors.

Matthew Vunikuia has lived in the settlement for the past 26 years and watched the water levels rise.

"The future of this place isn't safe," Vunikuia said.

"The people are struggling, they're trying their best to survive but we find it difficult here."

The Fijian government has slated the village for relocation alongside dozens of others due to the worsening impacts of climate change and rising sea levels.

But Vunikuia has heard no plans since the announcement.

"I don't want to stay here anymore," he said.

"The water and the mud are not good for us and the kids."

Alongside the rising tide is the rising cost of living.

A full shopping trolley used to cost the community leader between $100 to $150. It now exceeds $350, meaning meat is a luxury with the family sticking to bread, butter, rice and lentils.

"It's hard to get half a trolley now," he said.

"I don't know what it will be like in two, three, four years' time."

Vendors in the Suva markets are also struggling.

The cost of some foods such as bananas has almost doubled since the pandemic started while customers have diminished.

Many struggle to pay bills and the electricity in their houses is routinely cut off when they fall behind.

Sahaman has had a market stall for more than three decades.

The sexagenarian is forced to work most days despite her and her son living with spinal problems after her husband died in April.

"My leg is numb but because of bread and butter I come and stand here to get something on my table," she told AAP.

She says while government welfare has helped some, it's a long and cumbersome process to receive assistance.

Jewellery vendor Miliame said market workers were dying every week and the government wasn't listening to the concerns of working class Fijians.

"We need more help," she told AAP.

"The economy is good and the government is not helping us. They're not listening to anybody."

Fiji Council of Social Services executive director Vani Catanasiga says more needs to be done to address inequality, with a siloed approach to development failing to bring about change.

Catanasiga told AAP change needed to come from the bottom up with political decision-making decentralised and more agency given to the people.

"The impact of those inefficiencies is exacerbated by multiple disasters and climate change," she said.

This article was made possible through the Melbourne Press Club's Michael Gordon Journalism Fellowship Program.