PNDS is building the skills of remote communities, whilst providing infrastructure to remote communities, said Minister for State Administration Jorge Teme.

Minister Teme, visited remote Umaheuk to inaugurate the community’s new water system, with Secretary of State for Local Development, Samuel Mendonça, and Secretary of State for Water, Sanitation and Urbanisation, Elias Pereira Moniz, on Thursday 12 June.

Umaheuk, a community of 60 families in the hills of Manatuto district, built a gravity water system with their first PNDS grant. The community planned and built the system themselves, with technical assistance from PNDS staff.

Before the new infrastructure, some members of the community walked three kilometres daily to fetch water.

“Today is an important day for the whole nation,” said Minister Teme

“These projects, although small, build the skills and capabilities of rural communities, slowly but surely,” he said.

In PNDS, the money goes directly to the suku who together identify their priorities, plan and implement the project. An aim of the program is to increase the skills of community members so they can lead their own development.

The PNDS program focus on small-scale infrastructure, but is a stepping stone to more ambitious development projects in rural areas.

“Communities themselves can do it, but before we reach the point of completing medium or large scale projects, we need to work together to complete small scale projects,” said Minister Teme.

“We achieve this through our [PNDS] facilitators and coordinators, who accompany you through the process of project identification, planning and execution until we get good results.”

Representative for Australian Aid, Kathy Richards, congratulated the community of Umaheuk on their hard work.

“The whole community worked together, now the water system can help all the people in Umaheuk.”

“We know that this program will bring a lot of benefits for all people in Timor, like good work, and new basic infrastructure,” she said.

PNDS, a program of the Government of Timor-Leste, is supported by the Government of Australia who provide technical assistance, logistical support and help train PNDS facilitators who then work with the communities.

Ms Richards said she was excited to hear the community’s plans for their next PNDS grants and hoped to return to the suku in the future to see the progress they make. All suku receive a grant every year, for eight years.

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