In the scattered hills of East Sumba, 5,300-litre ferrocement tanks collect each drop of rain. Families help build and maintain them. Children drink safely, and women no longer have to carry 20-kilo jerrycans for hours. Water near the house is a primary source of health care.

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Empowering Ultra-Rural and Marginalized Communities

Fair Future Foundation is dedicated to empowering ultra-rural, isolated, and marginalized communities by providing essential resources for self-reliance and sustainable development, including clean water, healthcare, vocational training, and economic independence. Through close collaboration, we aim to drive enduring change and ensure communities can thrive independently.

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Climate change is worsening health conditions across Indonesia

25.11.2025 | Our new page explains how climate change fuels disease, water scarcity, malnutrition and medical emergencies in rural Indonesia. Fair Future documents the impacts and outlines solutions for communities already living on the edge.

Truck of Life heads back to Sumba for vital medical fieldwork

24.11.2025 | On the 27th, the Truck of Life, Alex and Erwin leave for East Sumba to support Kawan Sehat health workers, restock essential medicines, and carry out field evaluations in villages with no medical access. A demanding mission, and we will keep you informed.

New HIV prevention posters for ultra rural East Indonesia communities

24.11.2025 | HIV cases are rising in Nusa Tenggara Timur. Fair Future and health teams launch a prevention campaign with new posters on testing, safe sex, and stigma-free care for villages that have no access to health information.

Primary Medical Care: new 2024 field report from rural Sumba

23.11.2025 | Our latest Primary Medical Care quarterly report is online. Kawan Sehat health workers treat thousands of patients in ultra-rural East Sumba and record diseases, medicines, and costs of care where there is no doctor at all.

Seeking 30 Android Phones to Equip Rural Kawan Sehat Health Workers

13.11.2025 - We urgently seek a manufacturer willing to donate 30 simple Android phones for our Kawan Sehat health workers. These devices are vital for using our medical app and caring for 1,000 patients monthly. Contact us if you can help.

One School Electrified—Over 100 Still Waiting for Light

07.11.2025 - Electrifying one school may seem small, yet it changes everything. In East Sumba, over 100 schools and villages still live without power. Together, we can bring light, opportunity, and hope to many more.

Solar Electrification Brings Power to SDN Mbajik School in East Sumba

07.11.2025 - Fair Future has powered SDN Mbajik School with solar energy—16 panels, a 14kW battery, and a hybrid inverter now supply electricity to 80 students and teachers. A first step toward sustainable energy and better education.

Fair Future Donates CHF 19,248.96 to Fund 2025/26 Primary Medical Care

07.10.2025 - Fair Future has donated CHF 19,248.96 (IDR 400M) to support the 2025/26 Primary Medical Care program. This vital funding ensures continued medical care, medicines, and support for remote Indonesian communities.

Connecting the Roof to Laindatang’s 115m³ Reservoir for First Rain

01.10.2025 - Today, we connect the roof to the 115m³ reservoir in Laindatang. After two months of drying, the structure is ready. Soon, the next rain will begin filling it. A big step toward sustainable clean water for the village.

Fair Future Allocates CHF 1,500 for Essential Medicines

30.09.2025 - We allocated nearly CHF 1,500 to purchase essential medicines, covering about two months of needs. These supplies are crucial for treating patients in remote communities with limited access to healthcare.

Final Report on the Construction of Eight Ferrocement Tanks in Hambarita

13.09.2025 - The final report on Hambarita’s eight ferrocement reservoirs is now online. These 4,400–5,300L tanks provide vital clean water for 151 residents. Read the full document and see how this project strengthens resilience

Explore Fair Future’s Interactive Map of East Sumba Projects

05.09.25 — Discover our detailed East Sumba map, showing schools, villages, and communities without electricity or clean water. Learn where Fair Future works daily to bring healthcare, water, and light to remote populations.

2024 Accounts Approved: 16 Years of Transparency and Excellence

19.05.25 - Our 2024 accounts are officially approved by our certified Swiss auditor, without remarks, for the 16th year. Please read the full audit report on our documentation page. Accountability is our commitment.

Breaking Menstrual Taboos: Dignity and Health for Every Girl

13.05.25 - Menstruation is not shameful—it’s natural. Yet in ultra-rural Indonesia, girls lack access to hygiene, education, and support. Fair Future works to restore dignity and health. Please read our full article to understand and act.

Empowerment

The Empowerment category of Fair Future Foundation highlights our work in fostering self-reliance and building resilience in communities across ultra-rural Indonesia. Through education, training, and community-based initiatives, we create opportunities for individuals to improve their health, strengthen their social bonds, and achieve sustainable change. By focusing on empowerment, we help people gain the tools and confidence to improve their lives and their communities.

Building Self-Reliance and Sustainable Development for Lasting Change

Transforming Rural Healthcare Through Local Teachers

by Alex | Oct 24, 2023 | Child Health, Empowerment, Kawan Sehat Agents, Primary Medical Care

In Eastern Indonesia’s most isolated regions, the closest hospital might as well be on another planet. Who then comes to the rescue? Not medics from distant cities, but local teachers. Trained by Fair Future, these teachers transform into frontline health agents, acting as the first line of defense against life-threatening diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and polio. This isn’t the future; this is now. Join us in this radical shift in community healthcare.

Breaking Water Barriers for Women and Girls in East Sumba

by Alex | Oct 17, 2023 | Empowerment, Laindatang 23/25, Picture of the day

In this news "Picture of the Day", under the terrible heat of East Sumba, a mother and her daughter trudge forward, carrying five empty jerry cans. Their feet tread on arid ground, strewn with stones and brush. The day started a few hours ago and the journey is far from over. They have travelled more than five kilometres on foot and have as much ahead of them to reach their destination: Kullups, holes dug by hand in the rock of a hill. (Ref. Read this article here)

In this part of the world, kullups are more than mere rainwater reservoirs; they represent a vestige of human ingenuity against near-chronic water scarcity. Rainwater, channeled by soil and rock, seeps in to feed these small stone basins at the foot of a hill. It's a source of life, but also a source of heart-wrenching dilemmas. For every precious drop, there is a hidden cost, measured not in money but in lost opportunities, compromised health, and uncertain futures.

Consider the mother. Each trip for water represents hours when she can't work, maintain her home, or care for her family. What about her daughter? With every step she takes toward the kullup, she moves further from an education that could unlock doors to a better future. The thirst for learning is there, but it is weighed against a more immediate, more vital thirst.

Against this backdrop, the teams from Fair Future and Kawan Baik step in, armed with the will to make a difference and the tools and expertise needed to do so. The #WaterConnections program doesn't merely supply water; it aims to redefine these communities' relationship with this essential resource. By installing water collection and filtration systems, educating on hygiene best practices, and encouraging community participation, Fair Future and Kawan Baik aim to break the vicious cycle of poverty and disease.

Waterborne diseases like Malaria, Dengue, diarrhea and cholera are commonplace in these areas. But their impact doesn't stop at the individual. A sick mother cannot provide for her family. A sick daughter cannot attend school. And a cycle of suffering and poverty perpetuates, generation after generation.

The work of Fair Future and Kawan Baik isn't completed in a day or even a year. It's a long-term commitment, an investment in the future of these communities. But every installed water system, every educational session, and every assisted family represents a step toward a future where this mother and daughter won't have to choose between the present and the future, between thirst and the thirst for learning.

In a world where clean water is often taken for granted, it's easy to forget that for some, it's a luxury that comes at a high price. By working on the ground alongside those who live this reality every day, Fair Future and Kawan Baik remind us that behind every drop of water, there's a human story, a struggle, and an opportunity for change.

Alex Wettstein – Fair Future Foundation medico-social camp in East Sumba – Rumah Kambera, Lambanapu, 17th of October, 2023.

Rambu Mirna’s Battle: Fight against malaria in East Sumba’s Remote Areas

by Alex | Sep 30, 2023 | Empowerment, Kawan Against Malaria, Real Life Stories

Embark on a profound journey alongside Rambu Mirna as she courageously battles malaria in the heart of remote East Sumba, where healthcare is a distant dream. Dive into the remarkable story of resilience and hope, and discover how Fair Future Foundation’s #ZeroMalaria initiative is not just saving lives but also transforming entire communities. Join us in this life-changing narrative of overcoming adversity and restoring futures in the most isolated corners of Indonesia.

Access to clean water is vital for human health

by Alex | May 8, 2023 | Empowerment, Laindatang 23/25, Picture of the day

This "Picture of the Day" shows young children's struggles in East Sumba. The jerry cans are heavy and sometimes more prominent than the children themselves. With limited access to drinking water sources, the kids who live there (here in these images in the villages of Kabanda, Mahu, Laindatang, and Tana Mbanas) are forced to walk long distances to fetch water. Water in rivers or wells which are also contaminated. It takes up a lot of their time and puts them at risk of injury or illness by carrying heavy loads of water. Lack of access to clean water also contributes to poor hygiene and sanitation practices, further compounding the health problems of those East Sumba communities where Kawan Baik and Fair Future work so hard. Together, we are taking action to improve access to clean water sources, in these areas where no roads lead, to ensure the health and well-being of young children and their families. In addition to the physical hardship of fetching water, and as explained in this post, children in rural areas of East Sumba are often deprived of education and other opportunities because of this task. It is widespread (like in this picture of the day) that they miss school or other activities to help collect water, which affects their academic progress and social development.

Here people mainly only have access to contaminated water. This leads to many diseases, including gastrointestinal infections, skin diseases, parasitic diseases and other infectious diseases such as Malaria, Dengue Fever, Cholera, typhoid fever, hepatitis A or diarrhoea. Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to illnesses caused by contaminated water, a significant cause of infant mortality here.

In conclusion, ensuring access to clean water through a program like the #waterconnections project is our top priority that cannot be overlooked. Access to clean water is essential to sustaining life and maintaining good health for everyone here. Water plays a vital role in preventing the spread of the diseases mentioned above, ensuring people can lead healthier lives. Whether for drinking, cooking or cleaning, clean water is essential for everyday life. Without access, communities in the ultra-rural areas of East Sumba suffer from a lack of sanitation and hygiene, leading to various health problems.

Therefore, we must do everything we can to ensure that clean water is available to everyone who needs it.

Medical care for children affected by Malaria

by Alex | Apr 28, 2023 | Empowerment, Kawan Against Malaria, Picture of the day, Primary Medical Care

In this "Picture of the Day", Fair Future and Kawan Baik medical teams provide medical care to a child most likely affected by Malaria. He is less than two years old and has a fever of 40.6. Her symptoms fit this diagnosis of Malaria. We give him appropriate primary medical care to reduce his fever as quickly as possible. Then he will go for treatment tomorrow at the nearest health centre, more than three hours from the village.

Malaria is a severe public health problem, especially in the ultra-rural and impoverished areas where Fair Future and Kawan Baik Foundations work so hard. Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Children under five and pregnant women are also particularly vulnerable to Malaria, as their immune systems are less developed and may have more difficulty fighting infection. People suffering from chronic illnesses are also vulnerable (HIV, Hepatitis, malnutrition, etc.)

Ultra-rural and poor areas such as East Sumba are particularly vulnerable to the spread of Malaria due to factors such as lack of water or contaminated water, deplorable housing conditions, lack of access to healthcare health and preventive measures, inadequate sanitation… Moreover, here we do not have antimalarial drugs nor rapid tests to detect the disease. This makes our treatment and prevention work very difficult.

PMC program evaluation in Lapinu

by Alex | Apr 27, 2023 | Empowerment, Kawan Sehat Agents, Learning, Primary Medical Care

These women linked to the PMC program devote part of their lives to saving others. These unsung heroines work tirelessly to keep people from the danger of illness and injury. They put their lives on the line to ensure others can live to see another day. Teachers trained in primary medical care, these women are the backbone of these ultra-rural communities in East Sumba. They exemplify true bravery and selflessness, and we are eternally grateful for their service. Therefore, we express our deep gratitude to all women who save lives. Thanks for what you’re doing for the others.

PMC program evaluation in Kabanda

by Alex | Apr 20, 2023 | Empowerment, Learning, Primary Medical Care

Kabanda is genuinely one of the most isolated I have ever seen. Getting it is difficult, even dangerous, at times. No road leads to this village; only extremely steep or steep stony paths allow us to go there. It took us over six hours to get there, including four hours of absolute terrain with the Truck of Life, a 4×4 medical truck specially designed for this journey. Kabanda is no exception; so many villages are in the same situation: That is to say, they have no road leading there. This raises – among other things – the question of access to health care, of course. And it is for these types of communities that Fair Future exists, and together with our friends from Kawan Baik, Sumba Volunteer and Charis Foundation, we have created this primary medical care program.

PMC program evaluation in Mbatapuhu

by Alex | Apr 12, 2023 | Empowerment, Kawan Sehat Agents, Learning, Primary Medical Care

Non-professionals who give medical care and medicine to people, sick children, and injured. They do so through a unique and innovative medical care program. Because here, there are no doctors, no health centre, or else too far away. No one has a vehicle, and the roads that lead to these villages are often impassable. This program saves and preserves the lives of children as well as adults. Today, we are in Mbatapuhu.

Evaluation of 8 Kawan Sehat agents, in Mbinudita

by Alex | Apr 10, 2023 | Empowerment, Health and medicine, Kawan Sehat Agents, Primary Medical Care

In the village where it all started for us: The #rebuildmbinudita program is the construction of a school, and the construction of a drinking water network for more than 2700 people, 60% of whom are children under 12 years old . It is really the (re)construction of an entire village or learning to live healthier, healthier all together, within the framework of the creation of innovative programs. Access to primary medical care is part of this program here in Mbinudita and it is only natural that we have included it in this Care program.

PMC program pre-assessment in Mbinudita

by Alex | Apr 2, 2023 | Empowerment, Health and medicine, Kawan Sehat Agents, Primary Medical Care

Fair Future teams examine and investigate more than two hundred cases of various illnesses or injuries treated under the primary medical care program by health workers. We also take stock of what will happen next week to accurately assess the supply of new equipment, drugs and medical devices. We also tell them that three will be part of a “test” screening program for high blood pressure and, in this case, the “prescription” of treatment and an appropriate medical procedure.

On-site Primary Medical Care Program Assessment

by Alex | Feb 15, 2023 | Empowerment, Kawan Sehat Agents, Primary Medical Care

This primary medical care program in ultra-rural areas, which we initiated and started last year, is extraordinary, it saves lives. Since December 2022, the participants in the primary medical care program – who are the village teachers – have been providing first aid to children and villagers. They treat wounds, diseases, malaria, dengue fever. Images taken by teachers in their villages.

Teachers provide primary medical care

by Alex | Feb 2, 2023 | Empowerment, Kawan Sehat Agents, Primary Medical Care

The magic of this "Primary Medica Care" program? It's just that it's unique in the world and it works. The first batch of sixty teachers who have followed the training in primary medical care in rural areas, tell us about their "exploits" and their work as rescuers. They take confidence in themselves it is the most important, and we note it. Medical care is given to children of sick or injured adults. Lives are being saved.

The Zero Malaria Spot Radio

Interactive East Sumba map