A full-time employee of the Western Australian Water Corporation, Tom O’Connell provided a presentation about his work with Engineers Without Borders (EWB) on a project in Indonesia.

EWB works in partnership with developing communities both within Australia and overseas, assisting them to gain access to the knowledge, resources and appropriate technologies they need to improve their livelihoods.

The organisation focuses on developing the capacity of the local technical sector through small-scale, grassroots engineering programs to ensure that innovative, appropriate and sustainable solutions to issues that impede development are locally generated and driven.

Common issues facing the communities that EWB work with include access to drinking water, sanitation, energy, basic infrastructure, waste systems, information communication technology and engineering education. The Western Australian Water Corporation provides personnel to assist with EWB projects where possible.

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Mr O’Connell worked on a water supply project in Tenegan, Bali. The project was a bottom-up development aiming to provide skills to the local villagers and ensure they could manage the system once it was built. He said that the project had many challenges, including health issues and uprisings among villagers, along with normal project issues.