By Janet Rowaro
The iRAMP fuel and maintenance trip to the Western Province in the beginning of December this year was an eye opener for me and my co-worker Sabi Auwo. Flying into three remote airstrips in Western Province (Debepari, Fuma and Mougulu) via MAF to deliver fuel on the 09th December 2015 was quite an experience. My trip to these three airstrips was because the program’s mechanic Sabi was not feeling well on that day. So I took that opportunity to actually fly into those airstrips in which I have heard so much about from the other project officers who went there for the fuel and maintenance trips.

Ten minutes after the plane left Kiunga Airport, I peeped out of the window of the small MAF (Caravan) plane to get a glimpse of the landscape below. A mesmerising horizon of vast, green and swampy vegetation with endless canopies of trees came clear and the rising smoke from the gardens fires was the only indication of human habitation. 

It was roughly after 20 minutes when the first airstrip (Debepari) came to view. As the plane landed and came to a halt, I realised that there were quite a number of people from the nearby villages of the airstrip who heard the sound of the plane and made their way to the parking area of the airstrip. When we touched down at the airstrip, Sibert the Airstrip Maintenance Volunteer (AMV) was already standing on the side of the airstrip with five empty 20 litre fuel containers. With the help of the two pilots and the AMVs plus the locals we filled the empty containers and while I did the lawn mower inspection. After spending 40 minutes on ground we flew off to the next airstrip which was Fuma. 

Flying to Fuma from Debepari took about 15 minutes. Again we were greeted by a group of young people, especially kids. Just seeing their smiling faces reminded me that no matter how disadvantaged these kids are, they are content with what they have. But evidently they are missing out on a lot of real tangible government services since their villages are not linked by road.

 After we were done with fuel delivery in Fuma, we flew to Mougulu which is much more developed than the other two airstrips. In each of the three airstrips we took approximately about 40 minutes on the ground and then flew back to Kiunga at around 2pm. 

In all the three airstrips that we flew into, we were greeted by people especially, kids from the surrounding villages that came to the airstrip upon hearing the sound of the plane. They came not because they were expecting a visitor or a cargo but upon hearing the sound of the plane which is their only means of transportation in the area.  

The smiling faces of the people that I came across in these airstrips made me feel satisfied of the little things I do in my career, especially knowing that my input in this program is making a huge impact on the lives of these people. 

It is only through maintaining these airstrips that the locals in this part of the country are able to see some form basic government services in their area. When these airstrips are maintained planes are able to land to do medivac’s, fly in school supplies, medical supplies and teachers and health officers into these remote locations. Thanks to the Rural Airstrips Agency (RAA) and its partner ATprojects for ensuring that these airstrips are maintained on a regular basis for planes to land.

  

One of the great things about working at ATprojects is seeing development taking place before your eyes. It only takes small steps to improve someones life, and often its about developing an appropriate technology and training people in how to use it. Our “Round Loo” is just one of the many produces we at ATprojects have designed and developed and in the Eastern Highlands Province there are more than 6,000 families using these improved VIP toilets. The picture shows what CAN be done!
  

This week the tank that holds the hot water in one of our wood fired hot water systems developed a few holes and had to be replaced. The only things we had available were 2 old gas cylinders, and with a bit of welding and a few pipes a new hot water tank came to life! 
 

With the increasing demand for our range of appropriate rural toilets the fibreglass section of our production workshop is kept very busy making moulds and waste storage bins. We are very lucky to have two very experienced staff working in this section and it seems that no job is too big for them to handle  

At the moment we are busy producing our low-cost medical waste incinerator for a number of clients around Papua New Guinea. This low-cost alternative to the very high-cost imported models is in great demand. Our incinerator which does not require electricity to operate is an appropriate option for rural health facilities. For mor information contact ATprojects at steve@atprojects-png.org 

  

On Wednesday 9th November 24 community volunteers received certificates of participation in water and sanitation projects in Labur and Buruesuben (Rabahen) Elementary and Kurumut Primary Schools all in the New Ireland Province. The community volunteers learnt a range of basic water and sanitation skills, including making “ATloo” sit-down toilets and installing 9,000lts water tanks. The community volunteers were made up of 12 young females and 12 young males. This training is part of a project implemented by one of ATprojects WASH teams with funding and support from Nautilus Minerals.  

On Wednesday this week Kurumut Primary School on the West Coast of New Ireland Province held a joint grade 8 graduation and opening of their new toilets and water supply. The WASH project at the school was implemented by one of ATprojects WASH teams with funding and support from the Nautilus Minerals. This school is one of 29 schools that will benefit from this Nautilus Minerals. To date 11 schools have benefitted from this program an are enjoying the improved water and sanitation facilities. 
  

The 16m all wooden bridge at the ATcentre now has 3 solar lighting units that light up the bridge every night. The covered bridge demonstrates what can be done at low cost with good design and the use of local materials.    
 

The Nautilus Minerals wash program continues to assist rural schools on the West Coast of New Ireland Province . This year a total of 11 school have received both water tanks and toilets, and over 88 community volunteers have been trained in water tank installation and the construction of the ATprojects designed ATloo. While 88 community volunteers sound an impressive number, what is perhaps more impressive is the fact that 50% of these community volunteers are young females. The picture below shows some of these young female community volunteers building timber frame for the ATloo buildings.  

Two weeks ago Oxfam’s WASH Coordinator Praphulla Shrestha who is based in Melbourne, Australia paid a visit to the ATprojects Centre. Mr Shrestha was impressed with the products that ATprojects is producing to help the local communities in the country. He was amazed especially by the Urine Diversion and the Sit Down toilets produce by ATprojects saying that the designs suit the local environments of the country. It was the first time for Mr Shrestha to come the Eastern Highlands Province and had decided to pay a short visit to ATprojects Centre at Mt. Gahavesuka to see some of the work that Oxfam’s development partner has been do