Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
For many people in East Timor, clean water does not come from a household tap. In this Southeast Asian country, many have to walk very far.
In July, a group of secondary school and university students from Hong Kong and Macau visited the island nation. They hoped to understand its barriers to healthcare – for example, limited access to clean water.
Their trip was part of the Youth Ambassador Programme by GX Foundation, an NGO that sends medical aid to developing countries.
East Timor is home to 1.4 million people. After centuries of Portuguese colonisation and a violent Indonesian occupation, the country became independent in 2002.
Clean water for all
For Candice Cheung On-yu, the trip was a chance to leave her bubble of worrying just about grades.
“It’s crucial for our generation … to realise how hard life is for others,” the 17-year-old pupil at St Paul’s Convent School said. “[We should] learn to treasure what we have.”
The youth ambassador trip was built around a potable water project. GX Foundation donated 100 water purification machines to hospitals, churches, schools and more in East Timor. But the machines are only one small step towards clean water for all.
“Taking water from nearby pipelines or river sources is more convenient,” Candice said. She explained that residents might understand that clean water would be better for their health, but they grew up drinking river water.
Changing people’s thinking was key to the NGO’s mission, she said.
Dangers of disease
During the trip, the ambassadors visited households and surveyed families. They taught residents about the dangers of dengue fever and unclean water.
One local, Americo, recalled how his nephew once got sick from drinking unfiltered water.
Now, he understands the need for clean water.
“Sometimes, I take about 20 to 40 litres of water from the machine at the church,” he said through a translator.
He added that he would also boil the water before using it.
“[Now,] there is less diarrhoea and gastrointestinal disease,” he said.
He also knows now that you cannot wait when treating dengue fever: “When it’s already two days, we have to go to the community health centre.”
Healthcare’s future
Medical students from the Universidade Catolica Timorense (UCT) in East Timor also joined the visiting group.
Sartelizia Constantino de Fatima is a final-year student in UCT’s first medical class. But the university lacks essential lab equipment, so Sartelizia spent two months practising at an Indonesian hospital last year.
Studying has added an immense financial burden on the 24-year-old, but she hopes her medical knowledge will help others.
She will return to Indonesia for a two-year clinical residency. Students like Sartelizia form the foundation for the future of health in East Timor.
