An article from Ruth Carlos Martinez, Rotary Club of Melbourne
Rising tensions over territory in the West Philippines Sea is not a show stopper for Melbourne Rotary. Amidst the fuss and conflict over territories by China and Philippines, Melbourne Rotary (led by Ruth Carlos Martinez) reached out to transform lives and save thousands of families traversing the seas on small boats in search of water.
Digging and laying the pipeline
An alliance was forged with the Occidental Mioro community, regional government, PLAN International, and Lubang Island Rotary to provide indigent families access to a water pipeline distribution, sanitation and health promotion in nine remote villages at Ilin and San Jose, Mindoro, two adjacent islands in the contested West Philippine Sea. The alliance meant sharing the investment with a high impact sustainable long term solution (rather than a charitable quick fix) towards saving lives.
The area is highly disputed due to its rich mineral deposits, pristine white powdery beaches, lush rain forests and abundant seafood. Home to the indigenous Taubuid-Mangyan fishing communities, there is nil to very limited access to water resulting in water borne illnesses. Rain or shine, daily water collection by women and children in small boats is the norm.
On Ilin Island, eight out of ten villages (barangays), amounting to approximately 8,500 people, do rainwater collection, rotational manual collection from Ipil spring water supply for around six months a year from rivers in nearby islands. That was until Melbourne Rotary heard of their plight and forged an alliance that created a sustainable long term solution of access to water. At Burgos, communities manually collect from nearby barangays, to provide water to 469 families – approximately 2,300 people.
With PLAN International and local government support, the CABIBI and BURWASA Water Community Association’s organisation and training, and Melbourne Rotary liaising with the local Rotary Club of Lubang Island, a “sweat equity program” was used in the construction, water tariff collection and maintenance aspects of the project. Through the Christmas period, even children dug through the trenches to build the promised water network.
This Melbourne Rotary collaboration with key partner organisations such as PLAN, the local government and the community, is a strategic initiative involving shared limited investment. This systematic change of implementation was applied based on self-sufficiency and a long term solution rather than a short term charitable fix.
Collecting water from around the islands in The Philippines Sea