We’re pleased to announce that project scoping for the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives

grant has now occurred in the Aileu and Ainaro municipalities in Timor-Leste! The team set

out on their bikes for a multi-day scoping trip last month to identify appropriate schools and

health clinics in the two rugged and mountainous municipalities. With challenging terrain

and colder weather unlike the capital Dili, these areas are home to some tough people who

are able to live and work in some of the remotest mountains in the country.

A highlight of the trip was visiting a school on the outskirts of Aileu with the Ministry of

Education municipality Director. Here we met the principal of a school with 600+ students,

who proudly showed us the efforts her school is going to in order to reduce, reuse and

recycle the products their community buys. From reusing single-use plastic and plastic

bottles to build new garden beds and classrooms, to recycling newspapers from the local

government offices to create new products, we felt this school would be perfect to

encourage the long-term sustainable access to clean drinking water.

Pictured below is Timor-Leste Program Supervisor Chris and National Consultant Simi

holding gifts from the school, with the school’s principal Celia (second from right) and

Aileu’s Education Ministry Director Carlitu (far left).

Amongst their other stopovers, the team also visited a senior school in Aileu, where the

children were drinking straight out of a bore water hose protruding from the ground.

Students would line up after classes at this makeshift untreated water fountain, which was

the main option to stay hydrated during the day for over 1000 students, so our visit was also

met with excitement here by the senior school’s principal Antonio.

Abundant Water will now plan to conduct installations and training on filter usage and

maintenance with the identified schools and health clinics next month, which will pave the

way for the next phase of the project - training our filter vendors in these municipalities.