Improved Water Supply and Sanitation for Haku Villagers

David Bloch(left) from the Australian High Commission and Hon. Melkior Dare(right) Community Development Minister in the Autonomous Bougainville Government, surrounded by locals during the launching of the new water supply project in Haku.

 

For as long as anyone in the Buka District’s Haku Constituency of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville can remember, the chores of water collection has always been a unique and challenging problem.

The only fresh water available to them oozes from springs on a sandy beach hundreds of meters below their community at the bottom of a slippery, crumbling cliff. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the fresh water springs emerge below the high tide mark and are only accessible for a few hours a day when the tide is low. The only alternative is to crawl deep into dangerous caves hidden far beneath the inaccessible jagged cliffs.

It takes about 10 minutes for women to walk down the cliffs but more than 45 minutes of grueling labour to walk back up with the heavy (20 litre) containers of water. It’s agonising, dangerous backbreaking work…or it was!

That’s because since March 27, 2014, the 1000 families of Haku Constituency just need to turn on a tap to access safe and reliable water supply near their doorstep!

It’s all thanks to a K60,900 from the Australian Government funded Strongim Pipol Strongim Nesen program to the Neighbourhood Grassroots Support Group, to allow the people of Kukunpitala, Muntolasa, Selepin and Marau villages to install six water tanks and construct 12 pit latrines. The funding was made available through the SPSN Community Development Small Grant Scheme.

Not surprisingly the support has been well received!

Chairman of the group Paul Kolen, says in tokpisin:“Dispela projek em bai senism stret laif bilong mipela insait ples bilong mipela. Na long kisim dispela kain hevim moni i kam long Australian Government, em i bikpela moni tumas long mipela ol lain long ples na mipela i hamamas long dispela projek bikos em bai i senis stret laif bilong mipela”

(“This project will truly change our lives in our villages, and the funding for this project is quite a significant amount for villagers like us and we really appreciate this project. All the villagers are quite delighted with this project because it will change our lives completely.”)