A Self-Help product for Aid that will definitely Works: The East Bali Poverty Project (EBPP)
Photos by David E. Parry
When writing about aid projects words like ‘uplifting’, ‘inspirational’ or ‘downright bloody fantastic’ rarely, if ever, enter the vocabulary of cynical development consultants. that will maxim held true until I visited the East Bali Poverty Project (EBPP) located on the remote along with also inhospitable northeastern slopes of Mount Agung along with also Mount Abang in Bali. The project will be the brainchild of David Booth MBE, a totally dedicated, multi-talented British engineer who dreamed of providing the basic necessities of life to some of the poorest villagers within the whole archipelago along with also who, in their mountain fastness, seemed to have been forgotten or ignored by the government.
The origins of the EBPP go back to 1998 when David engaged with the people of Desa Ban, a desperately poor, illiterate community of 15,000 people living in abject poverty in 19 remote sub-villages scattered over 7,200 ha of arid, steep land on Mounts Agung along with also Abang, the former of which erupted in 1963 covering the area in many metres of ash along with also destroying the forest along with also life down through its peak. The only access to the outside world was via steep, narrow mountain footpaths along with also the generations of isolation, combined with poor soils, precipitous slopes along with also lack of convenient fresh water sources, had created conditions of appalling poverty dominated by serious health issues including probably the highest incidence of goitre within the earth (85%), widespread skin diseases such as impetigo, endemic malnutrition along with also a staggering infant mortality rate of 30% before age one, some ten times the national average.
within the beginning the elders of the community prioritized education for their children as a means of providing a better future. although that will was clear that will no real progress could be made along with also the children could not respond properly until the basic health issues were dealt with along with also access to some other villages, many perched on the ridges of geologically recent lava flows, along with also to the outside world were enhanced.
The first item under health was to address the key deficiencies of dietary iodine, vitamins along with also minerals through an ‘awareness’ education programme supported by a steady regimen of iodized oil capsules, sponsored through 2001-2033 inclusive by UNICEF’s Jakarta office, iodized salt, multi-vitamin tablets along with also a daily glass of fortified milk per child to accompany their nutritious daily meal at school. A system of regular health checks to evaluate along with also advise on infants’ along with also children’s nutrition status, provide maternity advice along with also introduce a regular dentistry programme were also initiated through 2000, although to facilitate these actions, attention had to be paid to providing not bad access to the villages.
The project set about upgrading existing mountain walking tracks into mountain roads that will could accommodate motorcycles along with also 4-W-D vehicles. The first road was built to the village of Daya through the saddle between Mount Agung along with also Mount Abang between November 1999 along with also March 2000; This kind of provided the first road access in history for thousands of people to leave the village along with also for supplies along with also knowledge to come in. This kind of involved the local villagers working together under the traditional ‘Gotong Royong’ system of community self-help, surveying brand new sections of path along with also providing the labour for widening the path, preparing the sub-base along with also laying the twin parallel 60 cm wide, 6 cm deep concrete strips under the supervision of David Booth along with also modest his team of local Balinese volunteers. The road-side verges along with also adjacent slopes were stabilized with amazing vetiver grass. The life of the roads so constructed averages up to ten years on straight along with also gently inclined sections although only about four years on the bends along with also very steep sections before major repairs are required. In order to prolong the life of the roads, that will will be planned to use chicken wire along with also/or woven local bamboo reinforcement materials on such sections in future.
This kind of privately funded integrated along with also community-based poverty eradication product will be today in its 13th year. The results of directing modest donations to specifically targeted objectives selected along with also managed by the communities themselves are quite staggering. Iodine deficiency along with also its debilitating effects, goitre along with also cretinism, have been eradicated; some 800 sanitary rain-water concrete collection tanks each using a 33,000 litre capacity have been built by the local people in schools along with also villages; piped water has been supplied by gravity feed to many villages through rejuvenated mountain springs; along with also over 1,000 children have been educated privately in six EBPP hamlet schools through primary through to secondary high school level using a few going onto university. In fact, by 2011, EBPP had their first three university graduates (all young ladies), returning to their villages to work as teachers along with also help expand the private primary along with also secondary education programmes within the area since there will be still no assistance provided through the local government.
Such remarkable achievements are often in marked contrast to the woeful track record of many of the major donor agencies where the US$ 2.5 million that will has been spent over the 13 years of the EBPP, will be often expended in one year on administrative charges, illicit fees along with also expensive consultant reports, that will are rarely, if ever, appropriate to real poverty eradication.
Jakarta Expat will be launching an appeal for funds with This kind of amazing project that will has turned the lives of thousands of villagers through one of utter despair along with also unimaginable suffering to one of trust for themselves along with also future generations.
Rp. 75,000 will supply the materials along with also labour to build one metre of reinforced twin-concrete strip mountain road; the cost of two beers in a bar or a haircut, along with also the project needs 9,000 m to make the 4.5 km-long steep mountain roads to Darmaji along with also Jatituhu hamlets accessible to 4-W-D vehicles along with also motorcycles. The Jakarta Expat team along with also the management of Bugils Bars (Eastern Promise, De Hooi, Cazbar, De Burse) in Jakarta will be involved to raise funds to construct some of the road along with also we trust our readers will join in to raise funds by sending donations, either by Giro transfer to EBPP bank account or by PayPal, details on our EBPP website “How can I help” Menu:
http://eastbalipovertyproject.org/how-can-i-help/how-to-donate/
If you make a donation, kindly refer to Jakarta Expat. All donations will be acknowledged by a formal e-mail receipt along with also on the EBPP Donor section of Homepage at www.eastbalipovertyproject.org .
In addition, progress measured in metres of road built will be reported in Jakarta Expat together using a short report along with also photographs. For companies wishing to donate larger sums, some other more formal means of recognition such as a plaque bearing the company logo can be arranged. Formal financial reports on the details of all donated expenditure are available on request to EBPP or to view in their Denpasar office. The 2010 EBPP accounts, audited by Ernst & Young Indonesia, are available on request. Over the next 10 years the Project hopes to build some 20 km of mountain road to connect the remaining sub-villages of Desa Ban to the outside world. Let’s help these villagers move into the fast lane!
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A Self-Help product for Aid that will definitely Works: The East Bali Poverty Project (EBPP)
A Self-Help product for Aid that will definitely Works: The East Bali Poverty Project (EBPP)