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Chairman Mal Price introduced Tony Austin to speak about the work being undertaken in PNG. Tony is the instigator and driving force behind the project. In visiting the communities in PNG it is clear that there is so much that they do not have. An ex-wine bottle was taken as a prize possession as a water carrier. Foam, which was used to package our solar panels, was valued by a lady who was going to cut it up to make pillows for her family. Two men with machete injuries were found who had been waiting 8 and 11 days for a boat to come by to take them to hospital. Both men made no complaints despite having quite serious injuries. Please welcome Tony as he comes to speak. Tony Austin Our main purpose is to provide clean water for the people in Oro Province, PNG. Team Tony Austin, Mal Price, Richard Wilton, Ewen Urquhart (RC Geelong) and Rod Harris (Freelance Photographer). Lots of problems occurred: the container was delayed 14 days after a number of hold ups at different ports. This meant that we had no tools or equipment for 14 of our 24 days, leaving only 10 days to complete the projects. We had some tools and equipment that we had left behind last time which enabled us to commence some of the smaller, lower priority, projects in Karaisa. This is a very remote village. We were able to dig a bore at Karaisa and Bobo, and found good quality water at both locations. St. Margaret's Hospital had a failed water filtration system. We were asked to have a look but were unable to repair it. Embogo School - removal of damaged water tanks. The locals built the stands - 7 meters high, and devised a method for raising the tank on to the tank stand. Popondetta Secondary School - Asking for a team to come and rebuild one of the school rooms. Part of the work is to develop local capacity. They have developed a Foundation, which is yet to be formalised legally, but they are very enthusiastic and is working very well. Once the container finally arrived, we travelled to Embessa Village, a 12 hour trip by boat, though sometimes pushing the boat because there was not enough water in the river. We built a tank stand, and mounted the tank. We had to re-dig the bore because the water table had lowered a metre since last year. We also set up a solar array and a reticulated water system. Martyr's Memorial Secondary School water project. Rotary club of Mt Martha sponsored a filter System for water at the school which we installed providing clean drinking water for the school. The problem of clean water supply is an ongoing problem in PNG. The river water is very unsafe to drink and many villages have no access to suitable safe drinking water. Mal thanked Tony for his presentation. |
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