Join us on a transformative journey as we strive to provide clean and safe drinking water and education to the children of Laindatang.
Together, we can positively impact their lives and help them build a brighter future. Let’s illuminate the path to health, education, and prosperity in rural Indonesia.
Introduction Laindatang? We have been working there for over a year. The people here are like family to us. It’s one of the poorest regions we’ve ever seen. Here, there’s no water, toilets, electricity, or access to medical care. People are hungry, and most children are malnourished and not in good health.
Here, washing is a luxury, possible only once or twice a month. It’s a highly rural and impoverished area. We’ve already accomplished a lot, thanks to support from Rotary Australia. In early 2024, we must do even more, no matter what it takes.
Phase #1 – Completed We repaired a road for over 6 kilometres to enable trucks, drilling machines, and our teams to reach the village. We constructed two bridges. We built two massive reservoirs and installed the first proper sanitation facilities in the village. We set up rainwater filtration and collection systems, pipelines, and hand pumps, provided training, treated residents, fought against malaria, and implemented a primary healthcare program, among other actions.
Phase #2 of the Program – Beginning This January
Fair Future aims to start building several reservoirs and proper sanitation facilities, particularly in the area of the school where 78 children come every day. This initiative is part of the program we initiated last year, which is dedicated to the entire village: #WaterConnection – Laindatang Site.
Fair Future will construct three reservoirs (20,000 litres in total), four toilets, eight handwashing stations, eight sinks, and a water point for all residents of the region. Everyone will be able to fill their jerry cans and containers without having to walk for hours or an entire night to fetch a few liters of unsafe water.
In this Phase #2, the program also includes the following activities:
- Organizing monthly nutritional events, preparing nutritious meals for the 80 children, offering courses on healthy eating and cooking for the village women, and more.
- Establishing a large community garden to promote healthier and balanced nutrition. Believe it or not, most people here have never tasted most local vegetable varieties.
- Conducting workshops on healthy living with various modules for teachers, children, and their families. These workshops will cover basic hygiene concepts, such as toilet use and handwashing, and implement our usual health prevention campaigns to combat infectious diseases and reduce mortality.
Phase #3 of the Program – The Most Crucial Phase
If we can gather sufficient funds (and we will), Fair Future is determined to provide access to electricity for the school through a significant solar installation of 2500 watts. The critical aspect of this phase is that we already have this installation, with 90% generously donated by SMART ENERGY TECH. This installation will provide lighting, power to two or three computers, and a printer. It will also supply the submersible pump required for the deep drilling.
Crucially, we must provide access to clean water through a deep well approximately 480 meters from the school. We discovered a water source at about 55 meters deep in this location. This will greatly reduce families’ dependence on rainwater, especially during the dry season, which lasts nearly nine months a year. Water becomes extremely scarce during this time, forcing children and women to walk for hours to fetch a few litres of water. It’s a daily struggle for survival.
For the entire #WaterConnection – Laindatang Site project, we plan a four-month implementation period on-site in extremely challenging conditions, but we’re used to it. Alex from Fair Future will be on-site 100% of the time throughout the project. Other on-site team members will include Primus, Ino, Elthon, Rinto, Adi, and about ten people, along with around thirty volunteers, the villagers themselves, who will work with us to learn how to build these infrastructures and eventually maintain them.
Once Phases #2 and #3 are completed, Fair Future wants, as we did in Mbinudita, to turn the Laindatang school into another “Center for Clean Water and Healthy Living” for the entire region. We hope that malnutrition, infectious diseases, and health problems related to lack of water, absence of toilets, and poor hygiene will decrease and eventually disappear in the medium term.
Impact of this Program
It is essential to emphasize the urgency of this initiative for our medical team. The health situation on-site is dramatic: more than 50% of the children in this village suffer from stunted growth due to lack of water, food, and hygiene. Additionally, the malaria rate is the second highest in Indonesia, after the Mahu region where we are already deeply involved in medical programs. We firmly believe that we can change the situation. As we often say, “Clean water is the cheapest medicine“.
To conclude
To achieve this, we need your support. You can help by funding one or more of the activities, contributing to the construction of reservoirs, installing solar equipment, creating handwashing points, building toilets, deep drilling, or any other form of support.
Today, we must quickly move forward with Phases #2 and #3 of this #WaterConnections project for the residents of this extremely rural village and all the children who live there. We cannot achieve this without your help. So, how about we all roll up our sleeves and tackle this challenge together
Alex Wettstein – Fair Future Foundation medico-social camp in East Sumba – Rumah Kambera, Lambanapu, January 11th, 2023.
Ensuring a Future of Health and Opportunity for Laindatang’s Young Minds
Providing Clean Water and Sanitation to One of the Poorest Villages Since 2023
A community-driven effort to ensure long-term water access in Laindatang
For more than three years, the Fair Future Foundation has been diligently operating in Laindatang, a secluded village in East Sumba that has long struggled with inadequate access to clean water, healthcare services, and essential infrastructure. With a population of approximately 300 residents, Laindatang stands as one of the most impoverished and isolated villages within the region. The village lacks roads, electricity, and medical facilities. To reach this community initially required us to construct an 8-kilometer access road ourselves.
In the face of challenges, we have remained steadfast in our dedication to delivering sustainable water solutions. Collaborating with the families of Laindatang, we’ve established several ferro-cement water reservoirs and enhanced sanitation facilities for the entire community. Additionally, at the village school, we’ve built a washing station equipped with nine sinks so that 80 children can now wash their hands using clean water. We’ve also renovated unusable old toilets to create a safe and hygienic environment for students. Prior to our efforts, this village lacked access both to running water and sanitary toilet facilities; today that’s beginning change thanks entirely due these initiatives from foundation indeed!
In May 2025, we are set to commence construction on a 110 cubic meter water reservoir designed to collect and store rainwater filtered through proprietary systems. This development will be transformative for Laindatang, offering an essential water source in an area where water scarcity is prevalent.
In 2024, from February through November, we embarked on a mission to drill for underground water sources in an effort to establish a reliable supply. Unfortunately, Laindatang is situated in one of the driest areas not only in Southeast Asia but potentially globally as well. Unearthing groundwater has been exceedingly challenging. Despite our dedicated efforts, we were forced to halt drilling operations temporarily. However, our resolve remains strong; we’ll restart drills with renewed vigor following the rainy season around July-August 2025.
This photo gallery encapsulates the essence of the #WaterConnections initiative in Laindatang, highlighting a profoundly human narrative filled with resilience, hope, and collaboration. Together with the villagers, we have built meaningful relationships through joint efforts—constructing reservoirs, taps, and toilets hand in hand. The community members are not just recipients of our programs; they have become part of our family.
In addition to water access, Laindatang plays a vital role in our Primary Medical Care program. The community benefits from two dedicated Kawan Sehat health agents who offer essential medical services. Furthermore, it hosts an anti-malaria center under our Zero Malaria initiative, providing families with enhanced protection against this deadly disease.
We take pride in our accomplishments to date, yet we recognize that much work remains ahead. Our commitment extends towards further expanding water access, enhancing healthcare services, and aiding the community in creating a healthier and more sustainable future. These images narrate our journey—a testament to trust, perseverance, and the belief that clean water is a right for all individuals.
We cordially invite all captivated by this story to explore our photo gallery, witness this extraordinary effort, and further engage with our mission through our Instagram account.
Alex Wettstein – Fair Future Foundation medico-social camp in East Sumba – Rumah Kambera, Lambanapu – The 17th of February 2025
