Field workers

Avondale students invited to evaluate development project in Timor-Leste

Poverty and development studies students at Avondale have completed the official evaluation of a water and sanitation project for a humanitarian agency in Timor-Leste.

Five students evaluated the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) project during their semester break in July and August. Completed by ADRA Timor-Leste in June, the three-year project sought to improve access to water and limit the prevalence of diarrhoea. It included toilet construction and hygiene training.

At ADRA’s invitation, the students and their lecturer, Dr Brad Watson, spoke to stakeholders in and leaders of three communities in the Viqueque District. The students were effective assessors, says Watson, because they gathered more data than an individual would. The female students were particularly effective: they were better at getting information from female beneficiaries. Despite challenges with translation, Watson says the students completed “a high quality review under difficult circumstances.”

One of the students, Angelina Kerr, is in her third year of study. She completed the evaluation as part of her final unit in the humanities strand. “I learnt more than I ever have in class.” The experience encouraged her as she looks toward graduation and then professional employment. “I feel more ready for the development workforce now,” she says.

ADRA Timor-Leste’s Program Manager and Acting Country Director Ben Keri says the project taught the students “a lot about the reality of development.” While the students lacked some professional technical experience, Keri says they had energy and enthusiasm and “got the job done.”