It was a pleasure to have Camberwell Rotarians, John Walmsley and Justine Paragreen, update us on the WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) program in Timor Leste. The major thrust of this project is to supply isolated communities in Timor Leste with toilets, handwashing facilities and water tanks adjacent to schools. Justine, a senior civil engineer, and John, a retired insurance Broker, have made multiple trips to Timor to install toilets, tanks and washing facilities.
 Alex Marshall, Justine Paragreen, President Mark Howlett & John Walmsley |
They stressed the importance of involving the local community and government officials in the planning and construction process. The provision of training to enable subsequent repairs is also essential. Both speakers described their experiences in Baguia, in the east of Timor Leste, 6 hour's drive from Dili, with the final section over mountainous, unsealed and potentially dangerous roads. Transportation of building materials is extremely challenging and water tanks have to be carried manually for up to 2-3 hours to reach Baguia. As such tank size is limited and there are multiple other logistic problems. For example, none of the existing buildings have roof guttering to collect water; so, this must be provided and fitted along with appropriate plumbing attachments.
Justine has returned recently from a scoping trip and was pleased to note that previously installed facilities were, in most cases, functioning well. Many community members had mobile phones, which enabled the construction phase of the facilities to be carefully documented. A useful exercise if repairs are required.
As our Club is a member of the Consortium it was emphasized that Glenferrie Rotarians would be welcome to be part of future working groups visiting Timor Leste.
Alex Marshall