WALKING WITH THE EXCLUDED
By Zach Martorana, Communications Officer, Jesuit Mission Australia
Imagine that instead of turning on a tap, you had to walk down a steep hill to fetch water from a common natural source and then trek back uphill, maintaining your balance while carrying containers with up to ten litres of water in your hands.
Then the next day, you’d do it all over again. And the day after, in a continuous cycle.
Let’s give you an idea of what that load is. That would be the equivalent of eight 1.25 litre bottles of supermarket water.
For years, the small village of Ermeta in Bazartete, in Timor-Leste’s Liquica municipality, faced this struggle every day to access clean water. In this remote community, 39 households relied on a single spring at the bottom of a steep hill to meet their daily water needs.
Marcelino, the village chief, standing in front of the metal storage reservoir. The solar installation can be seen on the right. Marcelino hails this as a life-changing project that has transformed the daily schedule of the community.
But that struggle has finally come to an end. Thanks to generous donations and the wonderful work of our project partner, Jesuit Social Service Timor-Leste, a new water facility has been constructed, bringing clean, reliable water to the people of Ermeta. Now, a solar-powered water pump delivers water from downhill and stores it in a circular metal reservoir.
The system collects water from the spring, pumps it up the hill, and stores it in a main distribution tank. To ensure the sustainability of this vital resource, JSS is working with the community to promote water conservation and environmental protection.
Marcelino, the village chief, hails it as a life-changing project that has transformed the daily schedule of the community. He says, “It was difficult during the summer but even more difficult when four to five families had to queue up to get water. Many times, a family could only bring back 10 litres of water. That would be used for cooking and drinking and would only last a day. What we’ll do from now on is to conserve the water so that we do not run out during the summer.”
For Marcelino and his neighbours, the daily trek up and down the hill, often with small children in tow, was exhausting and often dangerous.
“We had to carry the containers in our hands; we could not use our cart to help us because of the steep hills. My children could not lift heavy containers as they are still small,” says Anita (pictured, above), a mother in the village.
The Ermeta project is a component of Jesuit Social Services’ Water and Sanitation (WASH) program, which aims to considerably improve poor access to water and sanitation through community-based infrastructure projects across several municipalities in Timor-Leste.
Currently, the water project has been implemented in five locations and sanitation in five locations. Both projects have impacted a total of 5,081 beneficiaries, with 4,983 benefiting from improved water sources and 118 from improved sanitation facilities. Notably, 51% of the beneficiaries are women and girls, underscoring the project’s commitment to gender equity in accessing essential services.
Now, rural communities can finally focus on improving their lives, as well as enhancing their safety while securing the future of their children.
Banner image by Jill Wellington, Canva.