Project details

This project aims to enhance the health and quality of life of approx 160 poor remote rural people living in one village in Manufahi District through the delivery of safe water, sanitation and hygiene.

Project objectives and outcomes

1. Help all community members in one village gain access to a supply of safe, sustainable water through the construction of gravity feed water facilities.

• A village gains access to improved water supplies free from contamination, thereby reducing the incidence of water related diseases. Money and time spent seeking medical care is therefore saved due to fewer bouts of illness.
• Women and girls’ time spent collecting water is reduced. Time spent on waiting at the water source is also reduced, thereby freeing up more time for productive activities.
• Community, particularly women and girls are able to spend a greater amount of time attending to other social and economic activities.  
• Children are able to stay in school and focus on education.

2. Help all community members in a village gain access to low cost, low maintenance hygienic latrines through community led total sanitation approach.

All community members in one village:

• have access to and regularly use improved latrines rather than resorting to open defecation, resulting in a  reduction of infected faecal material being present in the environment.
• feel a sense of achievement having built a household latrine, and are motivated to maintain it in a hygienic condition.
• are aware of and practice improved hygiene behaviours, such as hand washing after defecation and before food handling.

3. Help all community members  in one village to improve their hygienic practices and environmental sanitation, focusing on hand washing at key times, penning animals and reducing places for mosquitoes to breed

• Six monthly monitoring visits after project completion report that household latrines are being used and maintained in a hygienic condition (at least 70% of all latrines), and a representative sample of villagers are able to explain the critical times when they should be washing their hands.

Background detail on Water issues in Manufahi District

Maurem is an isolated village with a population of around 160 people located in the Manufahi District in Timor-Leste. Maurem is approximately 45 minutes by car from the town of Same; however, the steep dirt road can be inaccessible during the rainy season. Villagers typically walk or ride horses as their primary form of transport. Like most isolated villages in Timor-Leste, there is no electricity.

Although there is plenty of running water within the village, the community does not have access to a safe drinking water supply or sanitation facilities. The village’s spring water resources are not protected from sources of contamination and according to baseline data collected by WaterAid, all most all of villagers practice open defection. One household has a very unhygienic toilet which is basically logs over a dry river bed that only runs in the wet season. It is precarious and dangerous to use as there are no walls. (see image below)

There is one small school in Maurem with 38 students. The school currently has no toilets or water for students or teachers.

The one existing toilet in the village.  The construction of safe and hygienic latrines is much needed!

Project partners / community involvement

The community is involved in every step of the project starting with the development of a Community Action Plan. (see image)

The project seeks to provide significant and on-going support to the community water and sanitation committees (GMF). Practical training and regular mentoring of GMF members aims to ensure that they have the confidence, capacity and community-backing to maintain the water supply systems and conduct repairs when needed.

How this project fits into a larger strategy or project

The direction for WaterAid’s Timor-Leste country program is documented in the WaterAid in Timor-Leste Country Strategy 2011-2015. The program focuses on the field testing of WASH best practice methodologies then advocating for them to be adopted and implemented at national scales by national governments, donors and other WASH sector actors.

We work in collaboration with other INGOs to increase impact on communities’ livelihood by maximizing the benefit of water, sanitation and hygiene program. We will continue to work with local NGOs and community groups to harness the local knowledge and increase accountability towards the communities to whom we serve. We will endeavour to improve planning and monitoring capabilities of Government by closely working with local government and line agencies.