in Ende

About 10 kilo meters from the city center of Ende, I had the opportunity and visited Riaraja and Ruku Ramba. The village is lack of access on clean water source, as well as adequate sanitation facilities. It said malnutrition and malaria remains a leading cause of death in this area. People still practice open defecation and drinking unsafe water, which resulted in an outbreak of diarrhea in young children. Education is also unequally distributed in this village. not all children are fortunate to get a basic education. In school, sanitation and proper lavatory is in poorly condition. Education, clean water and adequate sanitation is very related to each other. children who are able to get basic education cannot achieve their maximum capacity with the lack of clean water and proper sanitation. Schools with poor sanitation facilities effect on student achievement.

Almost one in six people in Indonesia still don't have access to safe drinking water, a key contributing factor high rates of diarrhea and related child deaths. There has been important progress in the last decade but too many people are still being denied this most basic right. Unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and lack of hygiene not only affect the health, safety, and quality of our life. Everyone, rich or poor, has the right to survive, the right to health, the right to a future.

There are still many tasks for the government, community and NGOs to build the villages in Ende, and Indonesia. I have made several trips and training about education, health and sanitation, sometimes I am very skeptical of the success of the programs. whether all this can be sustained? And seeing the eyes of the people i have met along the journey, the sign of helpless but also the sign of hope, for a better lives. It gave me so much energy to keep doing what i'm doing now.

I  bow down to all the volunteers, communities and organizations who fought tirelessly until every single man, woman and child has the water and sanitation that is theirs as a human right. and I look forward to the opportunities where I can help them.