In the small village of Puno, Timor-Leste, children spent hours walking to a nearby stream to collect clean water.
They had to walk with buckets, on a long and dangerous journey for children travelling alone. Instead of playing or studying, they spend hours collecting water.
“The children spend two hours to get water and carry it back using the wooden cart. They get water twice a day. The distance from our place to the water take 500 metres. It can be very risky but as parents and big sisters we all must look after them. We make sure they are safe and always hold their hand,” said Carolina, one mother in the community.
Carolina is a mother to eight children and teaches at the local kindergarten. Carolina knows how important it is to have easy access to clean water. “Water is very important in our community. We need it for drinking and cooking. And it is hard when we can’t access it easily.”
Easier access to water means that Carolina and her family can cook healthy food, shower, wash their clothes, and give water to their farm animals. “If the kids have school in the morning, then they must get the water in the afternoon so that they can use for showering the next morning before school. If there is no water, then they must go to school without taking a shower.”
With support from ChildFund Timor-Leste, the community installed a new water system that is more reliable and closer to the village. The water system serves 34 homes – approximately 200 people.
“Now the water is accessible any time but now our concern is that we don’t have a tap-stop to divide the water. We only use a hose directly from the pipe and because the water was installed in an old room next to the toilet, sometimes we need to take the hose out from the toilet to the outside to prepare meals for children or to be used for kitchen needs.”
The village Chief of more than 17 years, Filipe, explained that the whole community helped in the construction of the water system. “We had a lot of people helping. I divided them into two groups of about 50 people. They helped with the construction and prepared food for the volunteers.”
The water protection project provides communities with access to clean water for agriculture, schools, and the health post in Puno.
The Disaster READY (DRR) project is funded by the Australian Government through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP). The water rehabilitation project was one activity that was part of the Disaster Risk Reduction Community Action Plan. The initiative was led by the community.
This World Bicycle Day on 3 June we are celebrating the great benefits that a two-wheeler can bring children living in poverty.
Fourteen-year-old Prasak (pictured above) came across many dangers on his walk to school, but a deadly snake was one of the scariest.
“I saw a cobra moving on the road and it started following me,” Prasak says. “I ran away quickly.”
Prasak took a different path the next day. It was longer route and he was almost late to class.
Getting to school isn’t easyfor Prasak, who lives in a rural community in Battambang Province, in far northwest Cambodia. It takes him an hour to walk to school, and for most of the year it’s a long trek through sweltering heat. Prasak often arrives to class, exhausted. With the all the surrounding farmland and wilderness in his community, there is also a higher chance of encountering dangerous wildlife.
Prasak and many other children living in remote and rural communities risk abandoning their education because of the long distances they must walk to school, and the potential dangers they face along the way. A lack of transport means some families decide it is safer for their children to stay home.
New wheels: Prasak, age 14, has a new bike and helmet from ChildFund Cambodia that’s helping him to get to school safer and faster. “I’m happy to have the bike because I’m not late to school anymore and I’m not exhausted from walking,” he said.
Prasak’s parents work in construction, but it has been difficult for them to find long-term, stable jobs in Cambodia. Prasak and his family migrated to Thailand for three years to find work. During this time Prasak was not able to go to school and fell behind in his learning.
Today, Prasak and his family are back in Cambodia and Prasak is finishing Grade 3.
ChildFund Cambodia is supporting Prasak with a bicycle and helmet so he can travel to school safer and faster, as well as uniforms and school supplies. “I’m happy to have the bike because I’m not late to school anymore and I’m not exhausted from walking,” he said. He is also less afraid of being attacked by snakes on the road.
Happier days: After missing out of an education for many years, Prasak (pictured above, in the middle, with his friends) is back studying and determined to finish high school. “I want to have a better job and a better future than my parents,” Prasak said.
Prasak is also attending a peer educator program supported by ChildFund, where senior students help him to read and write, and work through numeracy problems. He is determined to do well in his studies and finish high school.
“I want to have a better job and a better future than my parents,” Prasak said.
If you’re inspired by Prasak’s story and would like to be a part of creating a better world for children, here are three simple ways your donation can make a difference this World Bicycle Day:
Bicycle and helmet: Your donation could help aspiring students get to class safely and stay in school, spending more time studying and not travelling.
School supplies: Your gift gives a student the essential items they need for a successful year of learning, along with a backpack to carry them in.
Bright future bundle: Every child dreams of a brighter future. The bundle includes a scholarship, a bicycle and school supplies for a student.
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