AN ISLAND OF PROMISE

Normally, I prefer an aisle seat on a plane. I had one on the Silk Air flight from Singapore to Dili, the capital of Timor Leste. As the pilot announced that we would be soon landing in Dili, I shifted to the vacant window seat next to me. And I am glad I did. It was a spectacular landing ! The sea had azure blue and deep green shades, with the waves dashing against the white sand coastline of what seemed to be a mountainous island.It was breathtakingly beautiful, heightened by the clear blue sky and the bright afternoon daylight.

Timor Leste is a young country. Recently, it celebrated 10 years of its existence as a democratic republic. Located in south-eastern Asia, the island of Timor (out of which Timor Leste is carved out), it is part of the Malay archipelago. While the eastern half of Timor is an independent country, the western part belongs to Indonesia. The Portugese colonized this island (shaped like a crocodile – probably because of which, the crocodile is revered in this island) in the middle of the 17^th century, with the Japanese briefly occupying the country during the second World War. In 1975, this country declared independence from the Portugese, only to be swiftly occupied by Indonesia. After a period of brutal conflict with Indonesia, Timor Leste was internationally recognized as an independent country in 2002. This tiny country now has a population of a little over 1 million.

WaterAid started working in Timor Leste from 2005 through a partnership with Plan International, and later on, registered itself as an international NGO in 2007. It has since then been working in close collaboration with the National Directorate of Water and Sanitation Services, focusing on two districts – Liquica, which is quite close to the capital Dili along the scenic coastline, and Manufahi which is on the other side of the island to the south. Ranking 120 on the Human Development Index, it is one of the poorest and under developed countries, with 69% of the population having access to water and 47% to improved sanitation.

One thing that was quite striking was that though Dili had a population of only 275,000, it was bustling with activity. As one landed, UN planes and helicopters were quite visible on the tarmac, and once outside the airport, UN cars were a common sight. There was an estimated 2,400 UN staff stationed in this city to ensure peace and security, given that the young nation has already seen some ugly conflicts in 2006 and 2008. Most of the UN force – police, peacekeepers, reconstruction workers, will be leaving by March 2013. And while that is a positive development, there are worries on how it could affect the local economy.

The drive to Laklolema, a sub village of Dato village was beautiful. The narrow road wound up the side of the hills and with each turn and elevation, provided a breathtaking view of the sea and the coastline, lined with trees, a perfect picture of peace and tranquility. It was hard to imagine the conflict that had ravaged this country not so long ago. After a little over an hour, we reached Laklolema.

There was a festive atmosphere. The paths were decorated with palm leaves and pink coloured flowers. As we alighted from our car, we noticed a welcome committee – a group of elderly men dressed in traditional costumes, jewellery and head gear. That was a bit of a surprise as normally, I am have seen such welcoming being done by women. There was some more surprise. The welcome was not a speech or a song, but a rather long and loud narrative in the local dialect (it was not in Tetun, the most widely spoken language in the country). ‘Be prepared to be shouted at’, Rosie had warned. Based in Australia with WaterAid, she was responsible for supporting the country programme headed by Dinesh with a team of about 22, mostly Timorese staff. She had seen this many times before. And there was even more surprise. There was a group of three women, who was playing some traditional music, rhythmic beats with traditional musical instruments that sounded like a combination of drums, cymbals and bells.

It was a momentous occasion indeed. For the first time ever in the memory of the elders, the community was getting its first water supply. Constructed at a cost of $ 11,500, it involved some clever engineering. 4 kms. of pipelines had been laid to tap water from a spring and bring it to the well spread out community of 25 families through 11 tap stands. Clean, safe water ! ‘How did it make life different for them’, I asked. ‘I used to spend four hours every day, getting water from a source, walking down the hill and coming up with the water. It was quite tedious and it had to be done every single day. Now, I have water at my doorstep and I have time to spare, which I am now spending on my vegetable farm’. She had a healthy looking vegetable garden in her homestead.

But there was another milestone as well that they had achieved. All the houses now had improved toilets. WaterAid, through its local partner NTF, had ‘triggered’ a process of behavior change to convince people on the importance of stopping open defecation and providing technical advice on constructing the right type of toilets that would ensure safe disposal of human waste and thus contribute to improved health. All the 25 families now had toilets in their home steads, mostly made from local materials, but built with their own creativity and more importantly, with pride ! And all this had happened in only 6 months’ time. A process initiated in June 2012, was completed by October 2012. It was thus time to declare this village as ‘Open Defecation Free’. And this did not happen easily. There was a verification process that involved members of the local community, the local NGO NTF and the district administration to ensure that all houses had improved toilets and they were all being used. And each toilet also had a ‘tippy tap’, a jerry can to hold water with a hole punched into it, tied with a string attached to a piece of wood. Stepping on the piece of wood lightly would make the water flow from the inclined  jerry can which was used to wash hands after using the toilet. Each jerry can also had a small soap stand.

It was indeed a proud moment for the village to be recognized for its efforts. The seven member local committee consisting of four men and three women witnessed the formal declaration of the village being open declaration free village, with the district administrator and the village elders calling upon the community to continue the practice of safe hygiene practices, use of the toilets and maintaining their community water facility.

It was then time to walk around and meet families in their homes, see the water points and their newly constructed toilets. It was about a kilometers walk downhill. The sun was shining brightly and it was very hot indeed, but it still did not take away the breathtaking beauty of the place, for looking down, we could see the hills covered with trees and the coastlines with the waves dashing against it, the colours of the water deep green and blue ! And, to make it interesting for us, the 3-member women’s team (who, we named as the Girl Band), accompanied us, playing the music, keeping in step with our trek down the hill. Carmelita, Amelie and Laura were their names. They were between 45 and 60 in age, but in terms of their spirit and enthusiasm, they could be 20-somethings ! Their spirit was so infectious that Dinesh and I got into the mood and tried our hand at playing their instruments, not an easy task.

And then, we had a group of kids accompanying us. We noticed that a charming boy had been at the community meeting, very involved, since our arrival in the morning. He was now accompanying us as we walked out, running alongside us, eagerly listening to our conversation, and smiling brightly each time we looked at him. He was David, a 12-year old, who enjoyed learning Tetun and Portugese in school. He was eager to show us the tap stands, turning the water on, pouring water into the outlet so that we could see how the water was being drained. He could be a future leader, we thought, with his enthusiasm and energy ! He was a bit taken aback when we turned the spotlight on him. But ever a sport, he responded enthusiastically when asked to sing a song. And sing he did – two songs, in Tetun, with the seriousness of a professional singer, and counting 1-2-3 aloud to prepare himself for the song.

It was a very interesting visit. A lot needs to happen in the country. With its troubled past, there is a real dearth of professionals. There is a large number of expatriate staff working with many organisations in the country. A whole generation has lost out on educational opportunities. ‘It is important to get the youth involved’, said Lourindo, a district youth co-ordinator. ‘Youth need to learn new skills, languages, take up enterprises for them to develop’, he said. ‘But, there isn’t enough funding. That is a big challenge’, he said with an air of disappointment. He had been working with NTF for five years now and was hoping that he could continue to work on mobilizing the youth.

The water and sanitation sector is showing lot of promise already. The government has significantly increased its allocation for the sector from a paltry $ 200,000 per annum 10 years ago, to $ 11 million. There is a major AusAID (government of Australia’s international aid programme) funded BESIK programme which will be investing $ 45 million over the next four years. Mr. Ellias Pereira Moniz, the Secretary of State for Water, Sanitation and Urbanisation is upbeat. ‘We want to make quick progress’, he said. He is planning to visit India in December as part of an exposure programme to see the sanitation programme in the state of Jharkhand. His optimism is echoed by Keryn Clarke, the Programme Director for the BESIK programme, who is providing strategic guidance to the government department. Surely, this island holds lot of promise !