Hello, friends and partners!

Hello, friends and partners!
March 31, 2015
Rotary Club of Seaside International Service Committee members Raven Brown & Stewart Martin
have recently returned from checking in on the water and sanitation project in Sumba, Indonesia. It was
a 16-day trip full of fickle weather, interesting foods, project challenges and lots of problem solving!
Staff from NGO partner Yayasan Harapan Sumba (YHS) greeted us at
the airport on Sumba and were our guides for our 9 days on the island.
We spent several days training their staff on how the Urine-Diverting
toilets work, why we're using them, and how to collect the data we
need to assess the efficacy of our project. We brought technology with
us that allows us to measure temperature every hour, and take samples
to measure pH & moisture. With language and cultural differences as a
strong barrier, it took some ingenuity and creativity, but we believe we
were successful in training the staff how to collect this data.
A 25-minute drive up steep, bumpy, and narrow roads of crumbling limestone will get you to the
village of Kali Ngara, where we worked for 3 days. We saw reminders everywhere we went of why
we're doing this work: malnourished children and women hauling water. The heat was overwhelming to
us, and we weren't carrying huge buckets of water, uphill over rocky terrain, while barefoot!
We met with village leaders and discussed the benefits of using the toilets and
how well urine will work as a fertilizer. They were quite receptive to the idea,
and took us on a tour of the main road through the village to discuss possible
locations for the Central Storage and solar reflector. The man in this photo
donated a large part of his centrally-located land for the project, and wanted
nothing in return. He knew how important this work is to his whole community,
and gladly helped.
We got to work building the Central Storage bins, starting with blue sheet
metal from a local shop and wood paid for by the project, and sawn by the
village. Once the village men understood they could use bamboo to build
the bins, they joined in with their machetes and worked together to get it
built. We painted the sheet metal with orange primer then covered it in
black matte paint to absorb heat from the sun.
We also visited the nearby elementary school called Lete Garona, and
were treated to a presentation by the children. They sang us songs and
showed us how they've been taught to thoroughly wash their hands. Their
energetic teacher Mrs. Olvie has been instrumental in getting the kids
excited about hygiene! We presented her with our
club's Rotary banner in recognition of all of her
efforts to bring hygiene into the schools. The
school toilet block will have 4 toilets and 2
urinals, replacing their single government-provided toilet that was supposed to
serve the approximately 140 students and teachers. The new urine-diverting
toilets will also provide excellent fertilizer for the school's gardens. The
structure has been built next to the school library for accessibility, and the tile
floors were being installed in preparation for setting in the blue squat-style toilet pans. While we were
at Lete Garona, YHS staff was working on installing the First Flush system that attaches to the
rainwater collection tank. First Flush filters out the first rainwater of the day (which will have debris
from the roof in it: leaves, twigs, bird feathers and droppings, road dust, etc.), so that collected water is
cleaner and needs less filtering-- preserving the life of the filters. We were able to make necessary
corrections to the implementation of the system.
One of the key parts of the trip was meeting with local government
department heads to discuss collaboration. We met with the Bupati,
the highest government official in the regency, in his home and he and
his wife seemed enthusiastic about our project, and even want to go
out to the village to see what we're doing. Having him visit would be
a huge honor for the village, and would encourage the villagers to
continue to do good work with us. We also met with the Education
minister (left), who promised to build 3 new school rooms this year
and 3 new rooms next year to increase schooling availability. This is part of our project with them: we
provide the furniture, they provide the buildings.
After 9 exhausting days on the island, we said our goodbyes to
our YHS friends and boarded the plane back to Bali. One of our
biggest accomplishments on the island was building a strong
relationship with these staff people-- without them, we couldn't
do this project! Back on Bali, we met with the RC Bali Kuta and
gave them an update on the project, and spent a couple days
relaxing and seeing the sights. We visited lots of temples, a
coffee plantation, a bird & reptile park, and local artist shops for
woodworking. It was a fantastic, productive trip!
You can see more photos – and some cool video clips – by browsing this Dropbox
folder, prepared just for you. If you'd like to hear more about our trip, have any
questions for us, want to know how you can become more involved (or come with
us next time!), or want us to come present at your club, let us know! Email Raven:
[email protected] or Stewart: [email protected]
We also wanted to say a big THANK YOU to our partners! Your support has
made this project possible, and we can say with certainty that Rotary is making
huge changes in the quality of life for the people of Kali Ngara. You should all be
very proud of what you're a part of!
Yours in Rotary service,
Raven Brown & Stewart Martin
RC Seaside, Oregon, USA