Australia brings water to remote communities of Timor-Leste
9 October 2014
The Australian government continues to ensure remote communities in Timor-Leste gain and maintain access to clean drinking water and sanitation facilities.
Tucked away in a remote corner of Manufahi District, the village of Oerema is not accessible by road and has no electricity, save a few solar panels. Until August this year, they also didn’t have close access to reliable clean water.
Through the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation program (known locally by its Tetun acronym, BESIK), the Australian Government funded a new water system for the community. Now, 6,900 meters of pipe ensures clean water reaches 88 households and one school, through ten public taps. An additional tap was funded and installed by the community themselves, using the skills they learnt working on the initial system with the contractor.
Community member, Rita Tilman Magno said “We are happy because now water is near. We can use it for washing hands, washing clothes, drinking and cooking”.
“Before, we walked for 30 minutes to fetch water, and then 30 more minutes to return”.
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A community member collects water from one of 10 new taps. |
 “We are happy because now water is near. We can use it for washing hands, washing clothes, drinking and eating. Before, we walked for 30 minutes to fetch water, and then 30 more minutes to return,” Rita Tilman Magno, Community member of aldeia Oerema, suku Holarua. Photo: Amy Porritt |
The new water system will also allow additional crops to be grown. The community, subsistence farmers, produce root crops, vegetables and peanuts. They also grow coffee, which is sold for a small income.
It’s a two-hour walk up a rocky mountainside to reach the community, a trek Neryl Lewis, Counsellor for Development Cooperation at the Australian Embassy, made to inaugurate the new water system, on Friday 26 September 2014.
Ms Lewis congratulated the community on their hard work. “I understand that the community worked hard with the contractor to make the water system within nine months,” she said.
“My congratulations to the community of Oerema. I trust that strong community cooperation will ensure that the water system is maintained and used for many more years to come.”
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The BESIK team and Australian Embassy representatives on the climb up to Oerema. |
 Neryl Lewis, Counsellor for Development Coordination, Keith Simpson, District Water Services Advisor for BESIK, and Domingos Soares, representative for Servico Agua e Saneamento (Water and Sanitation Service) cut the ribbon on one of the new water taps. Photo: Amy Porritt |
District Water Services Advisor for BESIK, Keith Simpson, said the community had waited a long time for the water supply system.
“It will now help improve everyday life and health in the community.”
He said the community carried pipes, sand, and iron bars up the steep mountain. “Your contribution and hard work is very important to the completion of this project. You should be very proud of this success,” he said.
The team at BESIK gave tools to the community so they can maintain their new system, ensuring it lasts many years into the future.
BESIK works through government of Timor-Leste systems and partnerships to employ local contractors, ensuring the creation of regional jobs, and providing on-the-job-training and skills development for the contractors.
BESIK also works closely with communities who receive new water systems to support good health and sanitation and encourage hand washing with soap, as well as support the formation of community groups to help maintain the water systems.
The project cost just over $US64, 000, or $US144 per person who now has access to clean water.