Oxfam GB in Indonesia In Action

by Geno Teofilo, Oxfam Communication Coordinator, Aceh  

 After traveling with Oxfam in distant corners of Indonesia, I’ve seen staff go to great lengths to help poverty stricken villages without clean water. These communities are often in remote locations, which can be very difficult to reach. They have been wrecked by disaster, and torn by conflict. At times there are no roads or bridges to reach them, and access can be a major problem. When just traveling there is difficult, how are we going to be able to build them a new water system? Well it may take us a while to get there, and we may get dirty, or even wet, but we eventually find a way. This means traveling by whatever way we can, which may be by small plane, by boat, or by four wheel drive vehicle. When all elses fails and the road runs out, we walk.

Why should we go to all this trouble? Doing projects in remote villages isn’t easy, but the results are inspiring. Local communities who used to drink from polluted rivers or dirty wells, now enjoy clear piped water. Believe me, if you could see the looks on these people’s faces when they see clear water flowing in their village for the first time, you’d see that it’s all been worth it.

Come with me as we travel to some of Oxfam’s remote water projects in northwest Indonesia!!