We aim for maximum impact in small communities. Our projects are locally driven and locally implemented. All funds go directly to projects
Partnership and Support
We partner with Bakhita Centre, a community organisation run by and for the local Timorese people.
We have a dedicated team of Australian volunteers and supporters. East Warrnambool Rotary also generously supports project funding and was instrumental in facilitating small teams of local tradespeople to travel to Timor Leste and teach the skills required to construct and maintain water systems.
Water On Tap
The system is simple!
A SPRING + POLYPIPE + HOLDING TANKS + TAP STANDS
Water infrastructure needs to be simple to implement and easy to maintain. Projects rely on gravity fed systems that don't require pumps or electricity. This involves damming a natural spring and laying pipe to holding tanks which then lead to tap stands that service small clusters of houses. Simple, and effective.
Projects
Water supply Lacau
System supplied water to 300 houses, 3,000 people and a primary school with 280 students. Due to numerous tap stands no-one has to walk more than 50 metres to a tap. A tank donated by Moyne Shire was central to this project.
School at Letefoho
Infrastructure including water connection, storage pumps and sanitation was installed, a new toilet block was constructed and the school received a new roof.
Water supply to the remote village of Asulau
School children were relieved of a four kilometre walk to collect water prior to attending school. Water was piped two km from a local spring to holding tanks and tap stands in the village.
Water supply to the village of Taurema
Water was brought 2 km from a perennial spring to provide 20 tap stands to 250 villagers and 120 school students.
Current Project
Toilets for St. Agustinho Secondary School Bobonaro
Clean water and toilets help keep children at school.
To include new purpose built toilet block adjacent to the existing school building. Eight private toilet cubicles (4M, 4F) and hand washing facilities. The school has 163 students and 17 staff. Currently they share the limited toilet facilities with the nearby pre secondary school.
Past Projects
Water projects are not easy to implement in Timor-Leste. Challenges of topography and weather combine to frustrate the best laid plans. Almost half of Timor-Leste's 15,000 sq/km land area has a slope of greater than 40 degrees, making it scenically beautiful but extremely difficult to implement infrastructure programs. Added to this are increasingly unpredictable wet seasons where both rivers and mountain sides can turn into torrents of water so that roads are impassible, sometimes for months at a time.
