Of Taps and Toilets

Welcome Home...

2007-01-22T17:52:00.000+09:00

to 0C and snow. Here is a photo out of my window of the scene this morning. Most people have a thermometer iutside their windows here. It took me a while to work out why. Well actually two times going outside in frezzing weather wearing just a shirt. Here in Sweden houses are well insulated and heated (a lot of apartments are heated by district heating and the price is included in the rent or fees) so the temperature you wake up to is always nice and warm. Being a Brit, I assumed that warm inside means warm outside (because on a cold morning you wake up in a cold room). As I said, I only made the mistake twice before I realised what the thermometers were for.

Hong Kong v Singapore

2007-01-20T22:41:00.000+09:00

OK, so they are a three piece, but they don't beat the style of the pianist at Singapore. On the way back through, there'll be enough time for a few beers before getting onto the plane. Bali was relaxing, but a bit hot to be on the beach much. Luckily they have some pretty up to date DVDs available, must be a special arrangement with hollywood, or something...

Facial Scrub.

2007-01-14T10:58:00.000+09:00

I am now in Bali having a holiday, and as you can see the situation with the water is fine and I can assure you that there are some great toilets just around the corner.

I arrived on Friday, and it is low season at the moment so plenty of discounts around at the spas for various beauty treatments. Never being one to overspend on the spa treatments, I went for the free facial scrub with every boogie board session - completely wiping out by misjudging a wave (or rather misjudging my skill at being able to take on very large waves) and getting wiped out and hitting the sea floor face first - nice. Very fast, cheap and highly effective facial scrub - not, however, highly recommended.

I will be back in Sweden on Sunday, and will be in touch then.

The WES team

2007-01-09T10:24:00.000+09:00

Here is a picture of the team I am working with - I hope you admire the national football shirts being worn by a couple of the guys. The photo was taken at a 'beach party' as a few people are leaving (including me).
The work is continuing to go well, there are a few problems, but that is what you expect... There still has not been much rain (only about three real storms since I arrived) but I am getting used to the heat, just in time to return to the cold.

Fitting Vindication

2007-01-04T15:47:00.000+09:00

We've (as in probably mostly blokes) all done it. Brought an interesting piece of something home because 'it might come in useful one day' and then leave it laying around the place. the grief we get.

Today was vindication day. We were working on the well and were trying to connect the tank to the pump. We thought we had brought all the pipe fittings that we needed, but had got one of the sizes wrong. The warehouse was a frustrating two-hour round trip away. then one of the people in the village that years ago was responsible for the pump says 'Oh, I've got that piece at home,' and goes off to get it. We should have given him a certificate.

How Many Engineers...

2007-01-03T16:54:00.000+09:00

...does it take to turn on a generator? Well, if you were doing your survey here in East Timor today, and your engineers were western qualified, then the answer would be two and about half an hour.

Of course we have an excuse - the switch labelled RUN and STOP was installed upside down. A fact we discovered when we decided to give it a couple of pulls starts when switched off (or so we thought) to give it a clean out, and it started on the first pull.

Tagging

2006-12-30T09:43:00.000+09:00

Here's one of the large tanks we have installed at a camp. they are by the roadside so that when it rains (the sky looks pretty ominous...) the trucks can still fill the tanks. There are smaller tanks inside the camp that are filled when possible. It has only really rained a few times, the big rains are still to come.

I spent a morning labelling all the tanks, as you can see the system of numbering was chosen by someone else (T103) - I would have devised a system that allowed me to spray BCFC 1 BRFC 0, BCFC 2 BRFC 0 etc. everywhere.

Have a fun New year's Eve - by the time you're celebrating midnight in Europe, it'll be around 8 or 9 in the morning for us...

Cetacea Crossing

2006-12-26T12:28:00.000+09:00

This was the view of the sunrise waiting for the boat back to Dili for work this morning. On the way we saw dolphins and a whale, not bad for a mornings commute!

Christmas was a relaxing time on the beach, with some great snorkelling on Christmas Day afternoon. Now it is back to water trucks and septic tanks!

Hope you all had a great Christmas.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

2006-12-22T13:36:00.000+09:00

White sand that is. Tomorrow I'm off for a couple of days to the island opposite Dili. Have a Great Christmas everyone. Above is a photo from the Christmas tree shop street.

Who Ya Gonna Call?

2006-12-22T13:28:00.000+09:00

Shit Suckers!

Or at least they are who you need when you remove a couple of temporary (as in from the summer) plastic septic tanks and are going to build a more permanent concrete one. Inevitably there was some spillage, leaving a hole in the ground basically full of .... The tanker in the picture is one of those that does daily rounds emptying septic tanks and dumping the waste in a processing plant outside of Dili.

Water Trucks

2006-12-21T17:11:00.000+09:00

This is one of the water tankers that we are using to take water to the camp outside Dili. There are about 4 tankers that go out every day and deliver water to tanks around the camp. This is obviously a major part of the people in the camps day, and is reflected in the fact that it has now become a toy - see the photo below.

A Degree of Destruction

2006-12-21T17:01:00.000+09:00

This photo comes from the Polytechnic outside of Dili. It was destroyed in 1999 and is now being considered as a emergency shelter during the rains (not in these buildings however).

A slice of hill.

2006-12-19T18:32:00.000+09:00

Spent the day looking at some projects outside of Dili. It was up in the hills so the temperature dropped to a chilly 19C at one point! This si the view from one of the water tanks. the river has (over many years I presume) cut through the hill - the hill is made of dirt with no evidence of rock, maybe that is why the roads wash away so easily.

All is going well here - the two water tankers have started their runs and the water is being chlorinated with laundry bleach. Perfectly OK, but takes a bit of explaining to the staff as everyone is (quite rightly) taught never to drink it as a kid!

Dili View

2006-12-18T07:35:00.000+09:00

Well, I’ve been here a week now and I’m glad to say that things are better than in the summer, still by no means good, but better.

The WES team (that’s Water and Environmental Sanitation) has grown even more since I left – so we are able to get a lot of work done at different places. Apart from the work in the IDP camps, there is also a set of longer term water projects in one of the districts just outside of Dili. The work there is looking at setting up community Water Supply and Sanitaion (read toilet) projects and training people to build and look after them. This project is well established and as I am only here for a short time, my involvemnet will be fairly small (or so I hope, I haven’t visited the projects yet...)

The work is also easier thanks to having a couple more engineers on board. They are both new to the organisation; one of them has been working in the camp outside Dili for the last couple of weeks and has been making great progress there and the other is on loan from another organisation for a few weeks and will be supervising toilet building in the same camp. It’s great to have people to discuss the work with over a curry on Friday night.

At the moment most of the work is in the camp outside Dili. It has moved since I was last here, so has moved away from the facilities that were built and needs a new set (although the old stuff was not yet at an acceptable level, it was better than nothing). The liaising with the camp management is now being done by a different organisation, so it makes it wéasier for us as we can try to focus on our work with water, toilets and drainage without being drawn into wider discussions.

Home life is good, I am house sitting for friend who has gone back home over Christmas – so have the luxury of satellite TV and a DVD player... The house is in a quiet neighbour hood and the family that own it live in another house in the backyard so eveything is looked after. Ther are also glad that there is another Malai (foreginer) staying in the house rather than it being empty as it gives them a feeling of security.

I am sat inside today avoiding the sun as six days outside has fried me a bit. I am about to venture out for a curry lunch, and then going to watch the sunset at a bar for drinks with a friend who is leaving tomorrow.

Tvättstuga

2006-12-15T17:46:00.000+09:00

Ironic

2006-12-15T08:16:00.000+09:00

that the camp which caused me so many headaches last time I was here because of the lack of water is now causing headaches because it is flooding. There’s just no pleasing some people...

The location of the camp was recently moved about 1km down the road (unbelieveably because the funding for a football pitch on thier old location came through) to a place that is half-bowl shaped with a road on one side forming a barrier that is about 1,5 metres above ground level. There is not enough drainage under the road, so when it rains and the rain runs of the bare hills (see photo) it backs up and causes flooding. It also causes flooding in the areas that we were trying to build toilets in.

The camp is taking on a semi-permanent feel (even though the water has to be trucked in) and people are building basic structures that either shelter the tents they were provided with, or are completely separate and have the tents next to them.

Locally Approved

2006-12-12T17:35:00.000+09:00

but not bottled at source. However it will hopefully be trucked to a camp about 4 kms down the road.
I arrived back on Sunday (to the joy of a meeting at 4pm...) and have been revisiting the camps where I was working in the summer (and of course some of the local restaurants). The organisation has moved to a much bigger place, and I now have my own office and an even bigger team. The work is (obviously) pretty much the same, but thankfully the pace is a lot slower and there are now two expat engineers working with me to share the load.

The photo is from this afternoon, we were out with a contarctor seeing if well could be used as a water source for a camp. After testing the well for flowrate we left the pipe running. Not missing the chance for a great shower, a local bloke ran up and took one - much to the amusement of his neighbours who wre watching our work.

Hong Kong

2006-12-09T10:31:00.000+09:00

Not quite Singapore, no piano bar, but this bar that I unfortunately had no time to visit due to flight delays - but enough time to do a blog!!

The dates

2006-12-01T19:29:00.000+09:00

I am leaving from Copenhagen (flying BA - so if the in-flight meal is a little cold I can microwave it in the seat pocket in front of me) on Friday 8th December and make it to Dili on Sunday, hopefully in time for a late brunch somewhere nice and warm by the beach. Apparently the rains have not started yet, maybe they are waiting for me...

Looks like I'm heading back...

2006-11-03T21:28:00.000+09:00

If all goes according to plan I will be heading back to Dili in early December for four weeks to provide cover for when the WATSAN engineer there is away. The photo here is from a race in one of the richest countries in the world, I was serving the water and juice at the end of the race, and there were some portaloos not far away...

Life goes around...

2006-08-12T22:24:00.000+09:00

Back at Singapore airport....

It's All Gone Bananas.

2006-08-02T17:25:00.000+09:00

Alan Titchmarsh might lovingly wrap his in straw for the winter, here we just stick 'em straight in. At one of the camps we have created a drainage problem by repairing a pump and providing extar tanks and taps, so to cure this we have dug some soakaways and channeled the excess water from these to some banana trees. Unfortunately I won't be here to see the fruits of our labour.

Anyone for Tennis?

2006-08-02T11:01:00.000+09:00

Managed a coaching session of tennis on Sunday morning - well why not try and improve your serve on a day off? It is also a good sign that things are in some ways returning to more normal. Workwise things have got a bit treacally as there are a few staffing and logistical problems, but the workload is beginning to get to a more realistic level for the long-term.

I am looking forward to a week in the UK before heading back home and starting work again.

Biscuit Tin Toilet

2006-07-26T15:13:00.000+09:00

The last time you saw something like this it was on the lid of a tin of biscuits and one of the descendants of the maker was taking away school milk. We give out kits to make toilets – fairly decent wood, nails, plastic tarpaulins for the walls and a plastic slab with a ‘keyhole’ and cover to go over the pit. Of course people use ingenuity and local materials to make the toilet and use the other material to make a kitchen area outside their tent, or an awning for their mini-bus taxi – as long as there is a slab over the pit and they’re not making awnings for caravans I don’t mind.

Work is heading towards 8 to 5 with a lunch break, and a lot calmer. I actually managed to go for a run on Sunday up over a hill and round a path before scrambling up the back of Jesus – which will mean something to a few people at least.

Movie night...

2006-07-25T11:50:00.000+09:00

Here is a photo from one of the movie nights in the camps. It was the usual showing of the very popular 'Bibi Bulak - Maun Sonic' Health Education film. There was unfortunately no time for the usual Tom and Jerry double-bill at the end as there was a quiz session about the movie afterwards with grand prizes such as toothpaste and soap. I think the kid on stage went a bit over the top in his protest either about the lack of Tom and Jerry or the quality of the prizes. There's no pleasing everyone.

Big Boys Toys

2006-07-19T18:15:00.000+09:00

Couldn't manage to rehabilitate an existing borehole, therefore called in a drill rig. Hope it is worthwhile as they charge by the meter.

It would solve a lot of headaches if they found a good supply of water that could be used for washing and other sanitation purposes.

All is rosy in the Garden

2006-07-19T08:15:00.000+09:00

Well not if I can help it it isn’t. I got a call the day before yesterday from the agency that is supplying the camps in Dili with water using water tankers (filling tanks in the camps). They were concerned that at one of the camps we are responsible for the drivers had been asked to bring extra water as people wanted to plant a vegetable garden in the camp.

Not too bad an idea – food security is never a bad thing – but with the water supply trucks struggling to meet the current demand fro drinking, cooking, bathing and toilets, it wasn’t something we could support. Later that the day the person who is responsible for the coordination of the camps called me over to speak to someone who had arrived at the office with a bag of flowers that they wanted to plant – not even vegetables. Things were carefully explained and accepted.

Yesterday, of course, I hear that the garden is underway – and that it has the backing of another international organisation. I contact them but am unable to speak to the person supposedly responsible for this decision. I do however speak to the person who has the same job as me there whose response was ’You’ve got to be *** joking!’.

Last night it rained.

It might not look much...

2006-07-13T18:14:00.000+09:00

or more correctly muck as I've just mistyped it, but it is a very good sign that we can find water for the camp that is causuíng alll the headaches. We fitted a simple handpump to an old bore hole and managed to get some water out. The photo shows the first few litres coming out of the ground - don't worry it soon started to flow clear. Tomorrow we are going to fit an electric pump and see what kind of sustained flow we can get.

Things are beginning to return to more normal; buses are running between towns, the markets are open and traffic is busy in the city. I also managed to go snorkelling on Sunday, the sea was rough and the water murky because of stirred up sand but it was good to get out and relax!

One Way...

2006-07-07T14:02:00.000+09:00

A busy week of not really getting anywhere fast. As far as the situation on the roads in Dili is concerned this is a good thing. The traffic is going back to normal and Australian Police are posted to restore the one-way system that fell to pieces. Also managed to get a morning swim in on Wednesday, a nice cool ocean and the sun rising over the hills.

The work in the camps in Dili is going along much as normal, with trying to make improvements towards more medium-term solutions (the photo shows a truck filling water tanks in one of the camps). In the camp we work in outside Dili things are going a little more slowly as it is taking longer to organise things in the camp than we had first hoped.

Water is still a big issue (and headache) which is getting resolved. Initially we are installing tapstands and tanks to improve and secure the drinking and cooking water supply and are currently looking at how best to provide water for washing and other uses. This is going much slower than I would like, and initially thought, however things are moving now and should get up to an acceptable state soon. Toilets are progressing, but again Dili traffic style.

The workload in general here is huge and I’m staying on an extra four weeks so that I get a chance to handover properly to the engineer that was here originally but was evacuated.

Of course things are not always stressful, last night was Kids Movie Night at one of the camps we are responsible for in Dili – a health education movie by a local group ’Bibi Bulak’ (Crazy Goat) followed by 15 minutes of Shrek 2. Tonight it’s Tom and Jerry. As the camp is in a church we go before or after the main billing of Evening Prayers. Hard to tell which is the crowd puller...

Basically a week of frustrations, but with many signs of things improving...

Turn right at the dog.

2006-07-01T16:56:00.000+09:00

We arrived at the camp today with a convoy of seven trucks bringing rice and other food items to the camp. I also managed to see one toilet that was partly built (see the photo) in a lovely shady spot. I gave it the test by standing on the plastic slab. If I don't fall through into the pit, then it will take all of the Timorese that I have met.

After the camp visit we went looking for the clinic where a couple of Cuban doctors are working as are trying to help organise their visits to the camp. When we stopped to ask directions, we were given the classic 'Go back down the road and turn right at the dog'.

I See No Shi*s...

2006-07-01T07:48:00.000+09:00

This is the view of the rear of the camp outside Dili. There may not be any toiletrs there, but a lot of people use it. Yesterday we delivered the Kit (plastic latrine slab, timber for supports and frame, plastic sheeting) and tools (the most important of which being the shovel for digging the hole) so that 50 basic toilets could be built - see the photo below. When we have solved the problem of water (which is proving to be a real headache) we can hopefully improve the design to a simple pour-flush toilet with a seperate pit.

We have been travelling up and down the road to the camp everyday this week and have met the pro-ex-Prime Minister protestors everyday as well, either waiting by their trucks to go to Dili, on their way to Dili, or on the way back. There have been no problems and our vehicle is now becoming well known on the route. It also helped that on the day that there could have been the most problems the back of the car was full of footballs and volleyballs for the kids in the camp.

Today (Saturday) we are hoping to escort up some trucks from the World Food Programme so that they can distribute some rice and other food in the camp. At the moment we are sat in the office waiting for them to get organised and give us a call.

Frizzy, rebellious, badly-behaved...

2006-06-30T08:06:00.000+09:00

Nothing to do with the situation on the streets here, which was very quiet until the rooster started at 5:30, but the Pantene Pro-V Frizz Defense shampoo that I used this morning at a colleagues house. The hotel where I normally stay is in front of the area that the pro-ex-Prime Ministers supporters were meant to be staying at. Also a lot of the streets were sealed off by International Troops so even getting there would have been a problem.

Hopefully today we will be able to get out to the camp without toilets to deliver some kits so that they can dig some basic pit latrines as an initial solution. The water situation is more difficult to solve as the amount flowing into the tanks owned by the ****** is not enough for all the needs.

OK, it's 08:15 so time for an 08:00 meeting.

Office View

2006-06-29T17:48:00.000+09:00

Things aren't really as bad as this, but it makes a good photo. Helicopters and troops are keeping the protestors to their route and hopefully all will be quiet tonight. We are mostly staying in one house in a quieter area of town.

Traffic Rules

2006-06-27T18:08:00.000+09:00

Sometimes you don't need to consult the Highway Code to find out who has priority.

Croc and Larvae infested waters.

2006-06-26T18:36:00.000+09:00

The Prime Minister has officially resigned and there is a feeling of celebration on the streets people are driving round in trucks singing and chanting, it looks a bit like high-school graduation in Sweden. Hopefully it will remain this way and no trouble will start. There has been an increased presence of Australian troops and police on the streets along with The Portuguese National Guard.

Workwise things are going well, water is flowing and shit flushing, for the main part in all the right places. We are now working normally, with slightly tightened security procedures, which limits the restaurant choice at night (East Timor was in a development phase and therefore has a good selection of restaurants that catered for the foreign workers that I am happily using now - mind you the prices are a lot higher than my local falafel place in Sofielund). Activities are also getting going with kids, such as camp mapping, the results of which are in the photo.

I spent today going round various camps to check on taps and toilets and met a nun who was a bit perturbed that some of the men were shitting in the garden rather than the toilet... Otherwise things are mostly OK, a lot of the work is sub-contracted so it's mainly finding the problems and then getting them sorted. One of the weirdest is an Olympic-sized swimming pool with around 35 cm of (not so Olympic) water in the bottom. It was a tough decision whether to get it pumped or hold a swimming gala. Apparently it was where a couple of crocodiles were being kept until Steve Irwin came and rescued them. The mosquitoes are a bit mor dangerous though, mate.

Welcome to the Hotel Tourismo – enjoy your dance.

2006-06-24T08:05:00.000+09:00

We (the Health Education Advisor, and me) are confined to the hotel for the day due to ’security issues’. This is much more due to the fact that there is not much organisation in the NGO we are working for and that they have overreacted to the situation. All the other NGOs are still working and a friend who also works here in dili (Sue from Lookingglass view – see links on the right) has promised to drop off books and DVDs during lunch. So that really shows the Emergency Situation here.

Last night Xanana said he would resign if the Primeminister didn’t, and this has increased the level of unrest on the streets. Also protesters are coming in to Dili from both the east and the west and are there is the beginnings of trouble between them. The hotel has BBC World, and some of the footage that they are showing about the troubles around Xanana resigning is old footage from before. There were large crowds gathering this afternoon, but all is quiet at the momenet.

The number of patrols by the Aussie helicopters and APCs has increased and they are rattling past the hotel every couple of hours. I am still managing to get some work done from the hotel garden; a contarctor has just stopped by to let me look at the designs he has for some ’showers’ and toilets in one of the camps. All I need is his price and start date and the job is his.

All this is a bit frustrating as at a meeting yesterday I took on the responsibility for Water and Sanitation at another six camps in Dili and a large (8 000 people) camp about 45 minutes out of the city. Now I am just sat in a hotel trying to organise things from afar. Still the view from the desk is good.

Entertainment is being provided by a bloke trying to destroy a lump of concrete. So far the most hits he has made before laying down the sledgehammer and smoke a cigarette or come back with another tool was eight. Annoyingly he has come back with a smaller hammer and is now managing around 30 per minute!

*********************************************************************************

It now looks like we’ll be able to get some work done tomorrow in the camps, which is good news; we even managed to get out to a beach bar for dinner! It turns out that the reason the bloke was smashing up a lump of concrete and destroying several concrete and tile ’patio tubs’ was because they are installing a dancing area. Maybe that’s because it’ll entertain trapped westerners, or maybe it’s a sign of hope!

Now Wash Your Hands!

2006-06-20T19:01:00.000+09:00

This picture comes from one of the larger camps that we are responsible for in Dili. At the moent about 1 500 people are living there in temporary shelters. In total there are around 65 000 people living in camps. There are a variety of different toilets, ranging from the portaloo type in the photo to more basic pit latrines. The taps vary less. The days are busy but different.

Arrived Safely.

2006-06-19T13:54:00.000+09:00

Strange to be back in Dili, driving down roads I remeber well!

En Route, Changi Airport

2006-06-18T21:31:00.000+09:00

Maybe I'll just stay here. The toilets flush automatically, there are plenty of taps and even drinking water fountains. Plus of course the lounge piainist playing a melody of tunes from film soundtracks.

'Final Itinerary for your travel to Dili'

2006-06-14T18:58:00.000+09:00

That's the title of the email I've just received telling me that I'm off on Saturday afternoon, arriving Monday morning.

Make that Friday...

2006-06-12T21:49:00.000+09:00

But at least I'll get to see England's victory against T&T!

Leaving on Tuesday

2006-06-12T16:25:00.000+09:00

I'm leaving on Tuesday evening from Copenhagen and arriving Thursday morning in Dili. Flying via London, Singapore and Darwin - so another three hour visit to Australia, you can see most of the worthwhile things in that time.

What's the weather like out there?

2006-06-10T15:08:00.000+09:00

While I'm waiting I've put a link to a satellite photo from the Australian met office

Satellite Weather Photo

on the right. The photo here shows you where to find East Timor in case it is covered by cloud.

Departure Date

2006-06-08T18:48:00.000+09:00

Looks like I won't be leaving until the middle of next week. All that clearing up for nothing...

Thank you for your cooperation and enjoy the World Cup experience.

2006-06-08T14:35:00.000+09:00

Well that's what the little red card I was given said when I was stopped by the police at Stansted airport on the way back from England on Tuesday. It was a red card - was that because I wasn't the 'risk to the safety of the event' that they first identified me as and they were sending me off on my way?

Maybe it was because I was in a hurry last week and didn't manage to get the weekly haircut in and that, combined with wearing the freshly washed but unironed shirt I wore to the wedding gave me the appearance of a skinhead in disguise. However, any thoughts of looking young and tough were crushed when they stopped the two obviously middle-aged business travellers behind me.

Ironically it looks as if I'll be leaving on Sunday so will only be guaranteed seeing England v Paraguay...

There's a BBC From Our Own Correspondent on East Timor here

Preparing to leave.

2006-06-01T23:17:00.000+09:00

Currently rushing around getting ready to leave for East Timor. It also involves a trip back to the UK for a friends' wedding (admire the position of the ' , Mr B). Setting up this blog also.