Villagers, partners build facilities

By GABRIEL LAHOC
THE remote fishing village communities of Laukanu and Kelkel in the Huon Gulf of Morobe now have access to clean water supply and proper facilities.
The locals last Thursday celebrated the official opening of new developments in their villages comprising two shower blocks, a water well, a laundry area, a drinking area and six toilets at strategic locations in the two neighbouring villages.
The opening followed a detailed process of community consultation, village mapping, water testing and construction by the Sago Network under its Sago Studio 2011 project.
Salamaua LLG president Joshua Haggai and district administrator Tony Ase represented partners who were involved in the development and officiated at the infrastructure developments opening after the volunteers managed five weeks, including Christmas and New Year, away from their families.
Led by Brendan Worsley and Lachlan Delaney, Sago Network is a volunteer team of design and development professionals focused on facilitating community development projects that bring together the skill and energy of designers, architects, engineers, students, local organisations and developing communities.
The Sago Studio 2011 project featured the collaborative effort of students from the University of Technology Sydney and PNG University of Technology (Unitech), who were put into different teams that worked on four main areas – master-planning, water wells, washing areas and toilets for Kelkel and Laukanu villages.
Worsley thanked the PNG Sustainable Development Program and Huon Gulf district administration as funding partners and Unitech and University of Technology Sydney as university partners.
Worsley thanked the professional partners and students who contributed to the success of the development.
Councillor Jason Tabora and his villagers were given two tool boxes of service parts and tools by the Sago Network for regular maintenance work.
Ase hailed the Sago Network’s bottom-up approach.
He commended the Morobe Mining Joint Venture for providing K1 million in counterpart funding towards water and sanitation programmes in the district.
Commending the student volunteers and villagers, Haggai likened Sago Network’s approach to the approach by kiaps in the nation’s pre-independence era where communities collaborated with them in upholding cleanliness and hygiene practices.