Lese Oalai School Toilet Project

PICTURED: Funded by a global grant, the Lese Oalai School Toilet Project supplied composting toilets, handwashing basins, menstrual hygiene kits, hygiene education, and training on equipment installation, maintenance and repair to a school in Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea.

By Steven Sundstrom, Regional Grants Officer

Global grant GG2239706, titled ‘Lese Oalai School Toilet Project’, was put together to supply a school in Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea, with composting toilets, handwashing basins, menstrual hygiene kits, hygiene education, and training on equipment installation, maintenance and repair.

The application was submitted for review in May 2023, but not approved for another six months, mainly due to some revisions to the travel schedule. However, throughout the review process, the sponsors and myself remained focused on the intended impact of the project being proposed because it was obvious from the start that a wide variety of community members were deeply committed to being involved in the activities.

For example, the application detailed discussions with local leaders that stressed a need to involve and educate young adults in the community by training them on the new equipment. Also, a great deal of attention was given to local social dynamics, listing the number of clan leaders, church groups, women’s groups, specific educators, health workers, government leaders and retired professionals with specialised skills who live in the community, along with many of their names, roles and how they would take part in the project.

In large part, this was thanks to Lucy Loko, a dedicated member of the Rotary Club of Greater Geelong, Vic, who leveraged her strong ties to the community to coordinate and plan many aspects of the proposal.