Our East Timor program was established in 2001 in the enclave of Oecusse, which, due to its isolation, has been largely ignored by other INGOs.

The core of our project is implementing Village Environmental Action Planning with local communities. This process gives villagers the opportunity to develop their unique way forward by:

• Preparing a detailed village resource map and time line
• Conducting water quality and environmental assessment issues such as reforestation, erosion and soil quality
• Identifying key village issues
• Developing a vision for the future
• Developing and implementing strategies and actions.

Demonstrating faecal contamination of water samples is a very powerful tool in showing the relationship between contaminated water and disease. We have many requests from villages to carry out a VEAP – we aim to have two or three new villages participate each year.

Water Quality Testing

One of the major problems affecting the health and well being of the people of Oecusse is the lack of potable water. Water borne diseases such as dysentery, gastro-enteritis and diarrhoea are endemic. Since 2001 OzGREEN has been testing water sources and in that time has found that 95% do not comply with World Health Organisation standards for clean drinking water, many are considered too severely contaminated for human contact.

Currently the only option is to boil all drinking water, this is not always feasible due to lack of fuel. A successful water filtration unit must meet the demands of the poor:-

• Easy to use
• Made from readily available materials
• Cheap
• Requiring little maintenance and technical expertise
• Successful over the long term

To meet these specifications we have built and tested several small household bio-sand filtration units which are proving to be ideal. Water testing results show a 100% reduction in faecal coliforms and turbidity. Feasibility testing in a village is now required.

Well rehabilitation and reforestation projects.

Follow up activities in our VEAP villages are being implemented. Chosen actions are most commonly well rehabilitation and reforestation.

Youth Activities

There is a large number of young people in Oecusse who have finished school and do not have the chance of employment or further education. They are keen to find worthwhile activities and when the opportunity presents itself are only too happy to help out with our environmental projects.

World Environment Day 5th June

Since 2002 OzGREEN has run activities to mark World Environment Day. This has become a much anticipated event in the schools calendar as opportunity for students to participate in community educational activities are limited. Activities have included public speaking, quiz competitions, poster painting , water testing, clean up campaigns and tree planting. Students in Oecusse are enthusiastic and eager to learn.

Youth in Action GREEN Games.

Sport is important in teaching respect, leadership, cooperation and team play. Sport is very popular throughout East Timor, soccer in particular is played whenever possible, usually with makeshift equipment on rock strewn fields. In 2007 and 2008 OzGREEN and GREEN TL has organised the Youth in Action GREEN Games. The number of people involved was indicative of the enthusiasm the Games engendered. Participants included schools, youth groups, district clubs and members of District Administration with an age range between 14 and 40, over 700 participants in soccer, table tennis and volley ball and thousands of other community members indirectly involved as supporters, spectators, small vendors of goods who sold items such as water, sweets and ices.

Capacity Building for GREEN Timor Leste

OzGREEN has set up a local NGO, GREEN TL, and is now mentoring and training staff in order to ensure that GREEN TL becomes an independent, successful environmental NGO and, when ready, take over the work of OzGREEN in Oecusse.