Water on tap for Labu Tale

Weekender

By LARRY ANDREW
THURSDAY November 17, 2016 was the start of a new chapter for the people of Labu Tale in Wampar Local Level Government, Huon Gulf District in Morobe when a delegation from International Organisation of Migration (IOM), USAID and Morobe Provincial Disaster & Emergency Services team landed at the village.
The village is array with white sand and coconut trees lining the beachfront and on that bright sunny day as smiling villagers flocked the central area where an important gathering was to take place. To reach Labu Tale is a half an hour ride from Aigris market (Lae), near the main wharf, by motorized dinghy. Passenger boats are aplenty with passengers and cargo being shipped from one port to the other. On a private trip, the banana boats are lighter and take less time. Commuters pay K10 per person for each leg of the trip which spans across the mouth of the Markham river.
The villagers had prepared for this day for a while already and were on alert to receive the important delegation into their village. This day was to see the commissioning of the first phase of the village water supply project. They had never had the luxury of running water before. It was also a time for them to showcase how communities affected by natural disasters are using community initiated projects to build resilience against climate change-induced disasters.
On sighting the approach of the provincial disaster & emergency services boat carrying the VIPs, Ward Six councilor Aaron Aima and community elders congregated on the beachfront to extend their warmest welcome to IOM Emergencies & Disaster Management Coordinator Wonesai Sithole, USAID regional advisor Ben Hemingway, and the team. After stepping on to the sand, the delegation was escorted by the village Sia dancing troop to take their place on stage where women and girls performed a drama depicting the difficulties they encountered in search of good clean water before the water project came to their village.
“Looking back to the ancestral days the villagers had never access good water for drinking and cooking. The hardship in searching for good source of water supply had been passed down the lineage,” was the message brought across by the play.
Women had to paddle across to a lagoon, known locally as Pipi. They then had to walk for another kilometre to the source of Pipi where water streamed through from rocks into the lagoon.
The commissioning of the water project was not only a significant moment in the history of Labu Tale but was also an early Christmas present that would benefit everyone, from children to adults. Women and young girls were now relieved of their arduous task in search of fresh, clean water. Family quarrels or fights over the issue of water was now lessened, if not, eliminated altogether.
Labu-Tale Women’s Empowerment Association spokesperson Sawadila Angu, on behalf of the village’s women, acknowledged USAID for the funding and the IOM for the implementation of the water supply. She also applauded the support from the Morobe provincial health office, Huon District Development Authority, Department of Health (water and sanitation), and the provincial disaster and emergency services.
“Before the establishment of the water supply the villagers faced a lot of problems, especially mothers and daughters who had the task of looking for water. They were even scolded or hit by their husbands when they arrived home late from their water-searching trips.”
“Now everything is changing, everyone is happy and we have formed a community water management committee with more than half of the team made up of women,” Angu said.
IOM’s George Gigauri said it was an amazing thing to see that something so small can have such a big impact on the lives of ordinary villagers.
“I live in Port Moresby and I go to meetings where I hear about millions of kina being spent on things that don’t register much impact on the lives of people or communities.”
“Make sure you maintain the water system because it now belongs to you. We will make sure a team is trained to maintain it and it is you that have to look after it.”
He added that just because water was now piped into the village didn’t mean people could relax and rest on their laurels. This was only the first of many projects the village had identified, and there was more work to be done, he said.
“You have a lot of work to do on your health, on your sanitation, on education and many other things. So this is one step of many steps that you have to go through.”
Mothers, Amanda and Midu were excited and thankful for the help from the development partners.
Amanda, who has five children and five grandchildren said, “This is a first time for us to have clean water. We have continued the tradition that was passed down to paddle across the lagoon to fetch water but that will be the thing of the past.”
The traditions and routines of old now stops with their generation with the younger and newer generations to benefit from the piped water.
Midu said they previously had to ask neighbours to borrow a canoe to look for water but the precious commodity is now piped down from a dam that has been built up on a hillside.
“Our village is now a happy village especially when we see our children running to the taps to quench their thirst.”