There is a remote place where people still live in the stone age … a modern day megalithic “paradise.” They use special colorful sea worms to begin their springtime jousting, to make the soil rich and productive. That place is Sumba Island, in the center of thousands of islands in the Indonesia archipelago.
But life is not idyllic in this primitive location, the villages in West Sumba. 
It is incredibly poor, and disease-ridden … and Rotary is helping make it better. The people are subsistence farmers. There is a long dry season requiring young children to walk for miles, gather water in unsanitary containers, suffer diahrreal disease, even few cases of polio. (Did you know that polio is a fecal-oral disease caused by poor water, sanitation and hygiene?)
This combined WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) project 
will provide toilets and fresh water for about 60 families, about 480 people, living in multiple hamlets. In keeping with current goals in Rotary, this is a collaboration with an NGO called Project Hope Sumba. Last year RC Seaside with help from several D5100 clubs, RC Bali Ubud Sunset and this NGO collaborated on a similar but larger project – MG #69713. The final report was filed and accepted by TRF without question. And a big plus – in that project an extra 7 water tanks and 66 toilets were provide thanks to donated labor by villagers, economically frugal purchases and a favorable exchange rate. The cost per toilet is about $120 each, and for rainwater cachement and stone-and-concrete water storage tanks is about $500 each — incredible “bang for the buck.”
Stewart Martin is the lead person on this project, due to his long relationship with Rotarians in Indonesia. Note this is a DSG (district simplified grant), as Indonesia is a pilot district (MG’s are not available during the pilot). We seek 3 other clubs 
to join RC Seaside with up to $2000 each, plus District DSG matches. All clubs will be kept informed of progress, receive reports and pictures … and if you wish a club program will be presented by Stewart about the life and culture of the Sumbanese, plus this project. Take a look at the homes, villages, cultural artifacts and the project progress at our D5100 WCS photo website. Contact Stewart for more info.
PS – if you take a hankering to this project, we can expand it … and help many more people. All it takes is our commitment to care.
SM
