Rotary Consortium Timor WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Project - November 2024 update
 

The Timor Rotary Consortium (TRC) is a multi-club project for remote schools and communities in Timor Leste. A total of three Volunteers from RI District 9800 visited Baguia Sub-district, Viqueque and Soibada Districts in Timor Leste from 2 to 9 November, 2024, as part of the current Global Grant.   

The focus of the Team was to:

Financial management and acquittals with Ms Leopoldina our Project Coordinator in Timor Leste.

The following Volunteers travelled from Melbourne:

Dominic Peverett – non-Rotarian
Justine Paragreen – Past Rotarian
Vijay Susarla – RC Caroline Springs (Team Leader)

 

We arrived in Dili on Saturday 2 November 2024 at about 4 pm when a tropical storm set in.  We had a meeting with Judite Martinez and Mario (both Past Presidents of Rotary Dili) in the evening and discussed recent developments regarding Water and Sanitation in Timor Leste and thanked them for their support of the Timor Rotary Consortium since its inception and of our Global Grant over many years. Unfortunately, Dr Vahideh, who is President of Rotary Dili, couldn't join us that evening due to her absence on international travel.

In mid-2023 we had purchased a total of ten 5,500 litre Water Tanks from East Timor Roofing company based in Baucau, and these had been delivered to different schools and communities locally. The Water Tank stands for these were constructed by locals and were ready for use, except for the Tanks delivered to an Orphanage in Baguia and the Batata community in Viqueque District. Whilst in Dili we purchased polypipe and plumbing items from Vinod Patel Hardware on Monday, before setting off to Bacau and Baguia by about 11 am. 

 

We visited a Toilet block built recently by RC Sydney Cove as part of Timor Rotary Consortium at Laveteri Primary School and Samalari Primary School and checked the condition of the Toilet and Water Tanks, before arriving in Baguia about 6.00 pm. 

 

Next day we journeyed for 3 hours in our hired 4-wheel drive vehicle to Loiholihoo Primary School, along with Ms Leopoldina to spend 2 days working ‘hands-on' building a three-cubicle Toilet.

 

This three-cubicle Toilet Block was sponsored by Yvonne Wills (member of RC Camberwell) and an associated Water Tank was donated by the RC Monash Glen Waverley as part of their contribution to the Global Grant.

Because it was the Dry Season in this tropical area where we were working, we consumed unbelievable amounts of bottled water!! This put in perspective how the school children / local community survive without clean water for drinking and for other purposes. 

 

It was most satisfying to see how the combined efforts of the TRC Project were meeting the needs of the local people through the provision of clean water, toilets and hygiene. 

 

On Thursday 7 November, we visited Bubuha Community and Bubuha Primary School to check on Toilets that had been built there earlier in the program, as well as the Afaguia community and Batata Community to select locations for Water Tanks that would be central to the community and accessible to a large proportion of the village populations.

We decided to allocate Water Tanks for Afaguia and Bubuha communities at a later date as some negotiations were going on due to village issues. We therefore re-allocated three Water Tanks (one to the Orphanage in Baguia and two Water Tanks to Batata community) and these were delivered to these new locations. 

On Friday 8 November, we commenced our rather long journey back from Baguia at about 8.00 am to Baucau where we had a very interesting meeting with the Timor Roofing Company who manufactured 72 Water Tanks to date for TRC. 

During this meeting we learned of the potential need for a new major Clean Water Project to supply and install about 60 local schools in the city of Baucau with galvanised Water Tanks.

 

This was confirmed by Ms Leopoldina and in subsequent correspondence with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) they too have advised there does indeed appear to be a need for water in many schools throughout Baucau.

 

We then went to Triloka village to meet with the Director of Timor Varde (UNDP - United Nations Development Programme- sponsored NGO in the development of agricultural programmes in Bacau and MoU partner in our TRC WASH Programme).  We had lunch with the team in Timor Varde, before departing for Soibada.

 

Following a 4-hour drive, we arrived at Manlala village (Soibada District) where a Toilet was constructed within the Global Grant and sponsored by RC Lakes Entrance (District 9815).

 

Please see below ‘before and after’ photos of these Toilets which are used by at least 200 people a day during peak pilgrimage times in the village.

We stayed overnight in Soibada with some challenges that we never anticipated, such as hot and humid conditions without power almost all through the night. It was an experience a unique of its own!!