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What's changing, and what's staying the same
👋 It's me, Alex. It's been a while since we last spoke, almost a month, I think (actually, it was July 28th). I miss you.
 In East Sumba, the days pass amid heat, dust, and sometimes harshness, but they are always marked by small or large victories. Recently, our work has accelerated like never before: nine water tanks have been completed, including a substantial 115 m³ one, along with eight 5,300-litre tanks built together with the villagers. Thanks to this new infrastructure, families no longer need to walk for hours in the dark to collect a few litres of cloudy water. Now, it is the children who, laughing, fill a bucket, and a mother who can cook rice with clear water. By the way, I suggest you read a little more about these reservoirs here.
🏞️ The photo above shows one of the eight ferrocement reservoirs completed in Hambarita, which now provides clean water directly to families, changing the daily lives of this ultra-rural village.
 We also distributed thousands of solar lamps. Here, light goes beyond mere comfort: it's a mother who sleeps peacefully because she's no longer afraid of snakes, a child who revises their alphabet, does their homework without damaging their eyes, a path that doesn't end in darkness, and fewer cases of poisoning from kerosene lamps. Small things for us, but dazzling revolutions for them.
🏞️ The photo above shows Ino presenting a SolarBuddy Junior lamp to 80 children in the village of Praiwangga, where each child will receive one to study safely after dark.
And then there's the unchanging reality. The roads are worsening each day. Hospitals, meanwhile, are depleting their medicines, no longer able to treat the sick or injured. Those suffering turn to us, the only ones with vital reserves left. We entrust these reserves to the Kawan Sehat health agents, tireless women (and one man) who walk miles to treat infections or soothe a threatening fever. Their medical backpacks often serve as the only pharmacy for entire villages.
 We have just completed a major medical study on malaria, conducted in Umalulu between March and July. The results are documented on paper, enhancing our understanding and guiding our actions. But understanding is only the first step. Furthermore, from now on, we will undertake three months of concrete on-the-ground efforts against malaria: prevention, distribution, treatment, IRS (indoor residual spraying), and most importantly, educating the community. And always, without intermediaries—just us, Swiss and Indonesians, shoulder to shoulder in the mud and dust.
🏞️ In Rumah Kambera, as the photo above shows, the Fair Future team works late into the night to design medical programs, battling the reality of dwindling medicine supplies.
In September, within a few days, I will personally deliver advanced medical equipment to Waingapu Hospital, funded by more than 15,000 Swiss francs in donations. Imagine a hospital serving a population of 800,000 people (including us) that is deprived of running water, oxygen, ventilators, surgical scissors, surgical equipment, suction, IVs, and paediatric or neonatology equipment… A hospital at its wit's end.
 So, we provide what we can. It's not enough, but it's essential. I'll tell you about what we do for them later in another, more comprehensive article.
Here, honestly, miracles appear as a thermometer, a bucket of clean water, a healthy meal, a solar lamp, or a little boy learning to write his name after his fever finally subsides, thanks to our efforts. But we're very isolated, you know... Sigh!
🏞️ Pictured above, on July 30, Fair Future held a monthly community care day in Umalulu, treating nearly 180 patients with malaria, dengue fever, tuberculosis, respiratory infections, and skin infections.
Here's what's changing and what's remaining the same. Lives are improving every day through simple actions, but poverty endures unyieldingly. So—as I tell you nearly every time—we keep going, tirelessly for over sixteen years, with the same belief: even the smallest victories deserve to be celebrated and shared.
🦟 Today is World Mosquito Day. In 1897, Dr. Ronald Ross discovered that malaria was transmitted by mosquitoes. Since then, substantial progress has been made, but the fight continues. So, have a great day, everyone—Happy World Mosquito Day!
A heartfelt greeting to you all—Alex, for Fair Future |
