Knowledge to flow freely after WASH Pacific scholarship

PICTURED: ABOVE: Patrick will undertake a fully financed Master of Integrated Water Management to further his life’s work in helping Pacific communities access safe and reliable water.

Rotary Down Under recently had the pleasure of catching up with Patrick Pagkale, the recipient of WASH’s inaugural 2026 South Pacific Scholarship at the International Water Centre. Service-oriented students like Patrick Pagkale highlight the importance of facilitating knowledge building in a way that returns it to the communities that need it most.

Words: Sarah Atkins. President. No Borders Rotaract.

Patrick Pagkale presents as exactly the kind of person you want to have around when there’s a town in need of clean water infrastructure. He’s cheerful and relaxed, but has a resourceful, hands-on way of looking at problems. He quickly highlights the importance of having different types of technology depending on the type of island you’re working with.

“You have to have things tailor-made,” he explains. “Fiji might require one system, whereas the coral atoll islands require another.” It’s satisfying work, but technical solutions are only one part of it.

“There are many challenges in the Pacific – climate change, urbanisation. So it requires an integrated approach, bringing together engineering, government and environmental management.”

The issue is, Patrick explains, that it’s a big picture to work with, and there’s a rising need for engineers with the specific knowledge for providing resilient water-aid leadership. This is where the WASH South Pacific scholarship program comes in.

The general WASH scholarship program has been successful for some time already: a total of 200 scholarship students have been funded by Rotary since 2012 to attend the IHE Delft MSc Program in Water and Sustainable Development in The Netherlands. Traditionally, the program encourages graduates to return to their home countries after completion to facilitate community development. However, the Rotary WASH E-club’s Foundation Chair, Chuck Fisher, noticed that none of the students (so far) have been from the Oceania area. This doesn’t line up with the fact that the South Pacific Islands have “a great need for WASH capacity with increased cyclone frequency and rising sea levels,” Chuck says.

Chuck met with Rotary Scholarship Committee member Bas Hendricksen, who was supportive of the idea of extending the WASH scholarship to a Southern Hemisphere university program. After discussions with Robin Archer, the District 9620 Scholarship Subcommittee Chair, the International Water Centre at Griffith University in Brisbane, Qld, was selected. Robin’s district was able to raise the necessary funding, which, after being matched by The Rotary Foundation, has meant that Patrick is able to take a fully financed Master of Integrated Water Management at the centre. Funding is currently underway to send two scholars back to the IWC in 2027; Robin says he is “proud that my District 9620 stepped up,” and looks forward to the second round of admissions.

When I saw the opportunity to study, to apply for the scholarship, I didn’t think twice about it,” he says earnestly. “I’m really grateful for the opportunity that Rotary has given me.”

To be considered, hopefuls must demonstrate a genuine passion in water aid management with particular emphasis on Oceania; they must also present a successful admission letter from Griffith University alongside their scholarship application. Once candidates are selected (based on available funds), a global grant is submitted to The Rotary Foundation. Recipients are picked specifically from the South Pacific islands. They initially spend two trimesters in residence at IWC, and complete a third trimester back home in the islands leading a WASH project or program.

“This equips students with practical tools and skills for developing and managing the adoption of innovative solutions to local, regional, national and international water management issues,” says Chuck. “IWC’S Master of Integrated Water Management (MIWM) creates water leaders by drawing on international teaching and research from many fields, and provides a trans-disciplinary, whole-of-water-cycle approach to water management.”

For Patrick, the scholarship provides an incredible boost to his life’s work in helping Pacific communities access a vital resource. He’s always been working with water, right from day one, and envisions he’ll stick with it for his whole career.

“I come from Fiji. Access to safe and reliable water is sometimes a challenge in many communities. I started out having experienced these issues first-hand. This is where the journey began for me, together with [a love of] service and community work. After doing my civil engineering degree, and my extensive experience in the urban and rural water sector in Fiji, I don’t think I’ll leave this career. I’ll be heading this way until the end,” he laughs. “I spent the last four years moving around in the Pacific. I think my passport’s almost full now with all the stamps I’ve collected along the way.”

Patrick thanks Rotary sincerely for helping with what can be a difficult road for Pacific Islanders wanting to get into resource leadership qualifications.

“We’ve got a lot of challenges that we need to overcome. Climate change, urbanisation, institutional constraints. These are things that we have to navigate ourselves through, in our own way.”

He emphasises not giving up, keeping up-to-date with modern developments and equipping yourself with the right resources to do what you want to do.

For more information about the South Pacific WASH Scholarship program contact:

• Chuck Fisher, eClub of WASH, via +61 481 699 932 or carlosrfisher@gmail.com
• Robin Archer, D9620 Scholarship Chair, via +61 418 131 678 or ra@bowtie.net.au