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SIBAT in Tolosa, Leyte
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| Nathan's on the back of the motorcycle taking the picture, so that's 4 grownups on one motorcycle |
SIBAT had sent a team there in December to help address immediate agricultural needs, as most of the crops had been washed out in the floods. While there they identified 12 barangays (villages) that would be targets for small water distribution projects. With only 8 full days in the area, our team was constantly on the go, sometimes visiting 3-4 sites per day. While the team of engineers & technicians (including Nathan) went to the potential water sources and did measurements, I sat with groups of community members and held focus groups with the SIBAT agriculturist.
While the rest of the team trekked through the villages to find a deep enough well, I had the opportunity to engage with the community members and talk about their water-related needs. I learned a lot about how to ask questions--
While the rest of the team trekked through the villages to find a deep enough well, I had the opportunity to engage with the community members and talk about their water-related needs. I learned a lot about how to ask questions--
Before:
Me: How many wells here have clean, drinkable water?
People: None.
Me: How many people buy mineral water?
People: Just a few
Me: Where do people get potable water?
People:.....They just buy mineral water
Me: Do you have water purification tablets from the municipal government?
People: Yes, we all have them.
After:
Me: How many wells are there?
People: 15
Me: How many wells are people drinking from?
People: All of them
Me: How many wells have clean water for drinking?
People: None of them!
Me: But they are drinking from them anyway?
People: Of course!
Me: Do people regularly use any kind of filter or purification tablet:
People: We have them but we don't use them
We would talk though each zone in each barangay, figuring out what the current situation was with drinking water. One of my favorite comments--
Me: How many people in zone 4 are purchasing mineral water?
Woman: All of them! That's the millionaires zone!
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Focus group
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Initially when I found out the test we were using required a 98 degree (F) incubator I was concerned, knowing that we weren't going to be hauling around an incubator in an area that still lacks refrigeration. I asked the other NGO how they overcame this obstacle and they pointed out the now obvious fact that we are surrounded by 98 degree incubators. Humans! Solution to field incubation: place the test between some cardboard, wrap it in a scarf, and tie it around your tummy! So for the entire trip I was strapped up with incubating water samples, adding new tests as soon as the last one had come off. When it's close to 100 degrees outside all day, having a scarf tied around one's abdomen can be pretty uncomfortable, and it wasn't the best sleep companion either. Nevertheless, I was glad to be able to make a physical contribution to the project, and I liked the added benefit of being introduced as the team's microbiologist to each community. It does have a nice ring to it.
After one particularly nasty test result, showing high levels of E. coli and other fecally-derived bacteria in one of the water samples, I learned another lesson about field work. While the community agreed that this source was the best, cleanest drinking water, they weren't surprised to learn that my sample was highly contaminated (picture to the left). Turns out I had sampled just downstream of where children are known for playing, which I now know goes hand in hand with open defecation. So I can add "do children poop in this water?" to my list of good questions to ask when surveying for water systems.
Hopefully the information we gathered can be put to use in the designing of future projects. This week SIBAT is being trained on the construction of biosand water filters, and my hope is to return to Tolosa and conduct some filter building workshops in the next few months.
Day to Day in Tolosa
On a plot of land, newly freed up after the typhoon removed the house that sat on it, SIBAT built a plywood house for staff staying in the area. We stayed here for the whole time we were working in the area- me with 5 men sharing a bare one-room house, with a tiny bathroom stall (but no door). Given the living situation of many in the area, even before Yolanda but especially after, I know that we were lucky to have a roof over our heads and a place to call our own. Nevertheless, here's a very brief list-style rant!
One thing I noticed in and around Tolosa is that people are pretty used to seeing foreigners. This was most obvious from children who seemed to have had a lot of practice saying "Welcome, visitors!". There were banners and signs everywhere thanking the various NGOs that had come before us or were there at the same time. It feels great to be part of such an effort, and was uplifting to see how much support had been given in the area. There was evidence of lots of good being done- rebuilt barangay centers, fresh paint on elementary schools just in time for the new school year, and a bustling health clinic in the municipal hall with supplies from Doctors without Borders. Unfortunately, there was also evidence of not-so-good NGO work. One focus group discussion revealed that the barangay we were in didn't have access to safe drinking water, people were getting sick and most people couldn't afford to buy bottled water. Just as we were wrapping up, someone mentioned that Catholic Relief Services had given every household a water filter. Every household! Had a state-of-the-art carbon water filter! So what was the problem with getting drinking water then? It turns out that most people weren't using them at all- they were collecting dust in their boxes. When we pushed further to see why the project had failed, we heard that didn't know how the filters worked (and therefore didn't trust them) or they thought the filtering would take too long (it's actually very fast). Other people simply didn't know what to do with them.
One of the things that I liked about SIBAT from the get-go was the idea of empowering communities to develop solutions to their problems. It's the difference between teaching people how to build a filter out of local materials, so they can build new ones and maintain them on their own, and dropping off a big box of expensive technology and rushing off to the next village. When the community isn't engaged in creating the solution, they won't be engaged in using it and they certainly won't know what to do when something goes wrong with it. This was an problem I had thought about a lot before coming here and was saddened to see exemplified first-hand.
Onward, to Hinunangan!
After we arrived in Tacloban, Nathan and I found out that for around $20 we could move our flights back a couple days and have time to visit his relatives in southern Leyte. Having seen his photos from his trip there in 2008, it was an easy choice to make- never say no to palm-tree lined beaches with crystal blue water full of tropical fish. So after a long, hard 10 days in Tolosa, we made the 3 hour journey to Lola Lilia's house in Hinunangan, Southern Leyte.
Stepping into her home after our journey felt like winning the lottery. A huge, sun filled, open floor plan greeted us, and we were quickly led to comfortable napping quarters. I will never take mattresses for granted again; beds are so luxurious. Lola Lilia's bright, welcoming personality made me feel at home right away. Her constant "You're so beautiful", "Your skin is amazing", and "So-and-So, isn't Emily so beautiful?"s might have helped me warm up to her as well!
For the next 2 days, we were living the good life. A trip to a tropical fish sanctuary, sunrise on the beach, delicious food prepared by Lola's caretaker, a canoe ride at sunset and a whirlwind of Dadaps-in-Hinunangan history and introductions.
In stark contrast to the typhoon-damaged homes, fallen trees and graffiti saying "Help Us" that defined Tolosa, this place just 3 hours away was seemingly untouched, the beaches still lined with towering coconut palms. I imagine that this must have been something like what Tolosa looked like around this time last year, before the rug was torn out from under it.
All in all, it was an incredible trip. I am proud to be a part of the work SIBAT is doing in Tolosa, grateful for being welcomed like family into the home of Lola Lilia, and excited to return to Leyte in the coming months.
Coming soon: Palawan island getaway, starring Emily & Nathan.
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| That's a lot of bacterial colonies for 1 mL of mountain fresh water! |
After one particularly nasty test result, showing high levels of E. coli and other fecally-derived bacteria in one of the water samples, I learned another lesson about field work. While the community agreed that this source was the best, cleanest drinking water, they weren't surprised to learn that my sample was highly contaminated (picture to the left). Turns out I had sampled just downstream of where children are known for playing, which I now know goes hand in hand with open defecation. So I can add "do children poop in this water?" to my list of good questions to ask when surveying for water systems.
Hopefully the information we gathered can be put to use in the designing of future projects. This week SIBAT is being trained on the construction of biosand water filters, and my hope is to return to Tolosa and conduct some filter building workshops in the next few months.
Day to Day in Tolosa
On a plot of land, newly freed up after the typhoon removed the house that sat on it, SIBAT built a plywood house for staff staying in the area. We stayed here for the whole time we were working in the area- me with 5 men sharing a bare one-room house, with a tiny bathroom stall (but no door). Given the living situation of many in the area, even before Yolanda but especially after, I know that we were lucky to have a roof over our heads and a place to call our own. Nevertheless, here's a very brief list-style rant!
- Shower: Outside, with a hand pump and a small bucket, mostly clothed, in front of whoever happened to be eating breakfast or doing laundry at that time
- Meals: Cut some vegetables with my swiss army knife and cook in a pan over an open fire
- Beds: Thin bamboo mat on the wooden floor. Ants, mosquitos, oppressive heat.
- Laundry: Handwashing by the hand pump in a small bucket + clothesline.
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| I found my new favorite mode of transportation |
One thing I noticed in and around Tolosa is that people are pretty used to seeing foreigners. This was most obvious from children who seemed to have had a lot of practice saying "Welcome, visitors!". There were banners and signs everywhere thanking the various NGOs that had come before us or were there at the same time. It feels great to be part of such an effort, and was uplifting to see how much support had been given in the area. There was evidence of lots of good being done- rebuilt barangay centers, fresh paint on elementary schools just in time for the new school year, and a bustling health clinic in the municipal hall with supplies from Doctors without Borders. Unfortunately, there was also evidence of not-so-good NGO work. One focus group discussion revealed that the barangay we were in didn't have access to safe drinking water, people were getting sick and most people couldn't afford to buy bottled water. Just as we were wrapping up, someone mentioned that Catholic Relief Services had given every household a water filter. Every household! Had a state-of-the-art carbon water filter! So what was the problem with getting drinking water then? It turns out that most people weren't using them at all- they were collecting dust in their boxes. When we pushed further to see why the project had failed, we heard that didn't know how the filters worked (and therefore didn't trust them) or they thought the filtering would take too long (it's actually very fast). Other people simply didn't know what to do with them.
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| Filters from CRS |
One of the things that I liked about SIBAT from the get-go was the idea of empowering communities to develop solutions to their problems. It's the difference between teaching people how to build a filter out of local materials, so they can build new ones and maintain them on their own, and dropping off a big box of expensive technology and rushing off to the next village. When the community isn't engaged in creating the solution, they won't be engaged in using it and they certainly won't know what to do when something goes wrong with it. This was an problem I had thought about a lot before coming here and was saddened to see exemplified first-hand.
Onward, to Hinunangan!
After we arrived in Tacloban, Nathan and I found out that for around $20 we could move our flights back a couple days and have time to visit his relatives in southern Leyte. Having seen his photos from his trip there in 2008, it was an easy choice to make- never say no to palm-tree lined beaches with crystal blue water full of tropical fish. So after a long, hard 10 days in Tolosa, we made the 3 hour journey to Lola Lilia's house in Hinunangan, Southern Leyte.
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| Me and the stylish Lola Lilia |
For the next 2 days, we were living the good life. A trip to a tropical fish sanctuary, sunrise on the beach, delicious food prepared by Lola's caretaker, a canoe ride at sunset and a whirlwind of Dadaps-in-Hinunangan history and introductions.
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| Beach sunrise in Hinunangan |
All in all, it was an incredible trip. I am proud to be a part of the work SIBAT is doing in Tolosa, grateful for being welcomed like family into the home of Lola Lilia, and excited to return to Leyte in the coming months.
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| Hinunangan |
