As phase one suku begin construction, PNDS is seeing an increase in the number of women involved in construction and project management roles.

In suku Abo (Quelicai, Baucau) women are involved in the community’s rotating labour roster. The women carry stones, mix cement, fetch water and prepare the framework for the community’s new buildings. The community are building a health clinic, community centre and rehabilitating a road.

“More women than men are involved in the construction work”

“More women than men are involved in the construction work”, said Sergio Freitas, Social Development Coordinator for Baucau and Manatuto districts, PNDS Field Support Team. There are also people with disabilities who are working in construction for this suku, he said.

Senor Freitas said many of the men have gone to Dili to look for work, so the women are taking the lead on the project.

Suku Abo has a rotating work roster, with five groups of five to six people. Each week a new group has the opportunity to work and earn a small incentive and learn valuable skills.

Women are also playing a greater role in coordination roles at the suku and aldeia level. Suku Maluro, (Quelicai, Baucau) has an all-female Community Implementation Team (Tetun acronym EIP). The EIP are responsible for preparing the project proposal (including design, budget and implementation schedule) and for managing the overall implementation of the project.  In suku Maluro’s Community Management Team (Tetun acronym EJS) nine of 11 members are female.

Construction of a new community centre, water system and health clinic is advancing at a rapid pace, despite the suku Maluro’s remote location.

“It’s great to see women participating in, and leading the construction in PNDS. From our monitoring, we’ve be able to see that PNDS can be successfully implemented in remote locations,” said Simon Whitehead, Senior Public Financial Management Advisor for Ministry of State Administration.

“Communities are all very happy with PNDS, as often this is the first project that has come to their suku in many years.”

PNDS has a 40% target for the participation of women in key steps of the process. In the pilot phase the overall participation rate of women in priority setting was 40%, and 39% in socialisation meetings.

As the program goes national, a key focus is to increase the number of women who work in construction and leadership roles; allowing them to learn valuable skills and earn a small incentive for their work.

At a recent workshop between PNDS and the Alola foundation, Secretary of State for Local Development, Samuel Mendonça, said women’s participation is a major focus of the PNDS process.

“Everyone’s participations in this program is very important. PNDS has a strong focus on gender initiatives, particularly women’s participation in decision-making”, Samuel Mendonça said.

 

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