Clean running water reaches Boru-baha families for the first time
UNICEF and the Government of China are supporting children affected by droughts and floods in Timor-Leste
Baucau Municipality, 15 October 2025 - It’s a scorching afternoon in Boru-baha, a 45-household sub-village in Baucau, Timor-Leste. Thirteen-year-old Virginia has just returned from school to her family’s home, perched halfway up a slope. Picking up two jerry cans, she walks barefoot over rocks and dirt, descending a steep hill to collect water at the spring.
“This is where I bathe in the morning,” she explains, pointing to a narrow stream. She steps into cool ankle-deep water, inching toward the spring, shadowed by jungle canopy. “The spring water flows over the ground, and I often slip when I try to fetch water,” she says, moving carefully as she approaches the source.
Virginia scoops water into her palms to wash her face and take a sip. As the second child in her family, she began collecting water at the age of eight, making the trip twice a day, once at dawn before school and again in the afternoon.
Water scarcity
In Timor-Leste, 17 per cent of the rural population still relies on unimproved and surface water, and 2 per cent of households spend more than 30 minutes daily fetching water. This adds substantial pressure on women, adolescent girls and children, who remain responsible for collecting water.
“The water shortage makes life difficult for everyone, especially for people with disabilities, the elderly and children. Some children go to school without taking a bath. And sometimes there are even arguments between villagers over water access,” says Apolinário da Costa, the chief of Kaibada Makasae hamlet, which oversees Boru-baha. “I submitted a proposal to the government requesting water access, but it went unanswered.”
During the rainy season, the spring near Virginia’s home becomes dirty, forcing her to go to Oisu, another village, to fetch water. The arduous journey back and forth takes about two hours each day.
“When I went to fetch water in Oisu, it made me late for school. As a result, the teacher punished me by making me pick up trash before I was allowed to enter the classroom,” Virginia says.
Across Timor-Leste, climate change is driving more frequent and severe droughts and floods, affecting children's fundamental rights, such as the right to survival, good health, well-being, education, and nutrition.
“A prolonged dry season, and increasingly erratic rainfall have caused groundwater levels to decline, resulting in insufficient water to meet the needs of children and the wider community,” explains Olderico Pinto, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Officer at UNICEF Timor-Leste.
Support from China
About 200 metres from Boru-baha, a water tank now sits on a hill crowned with swaying coconut trees.
With support from the Government of China, UNICEF is installing water tanks in 25 communities across Dili, Baucau, Ainaro, and Ermera Municipalities to bring safe, clean water to children and families and help prevent waterborne diseases. The project was funded by the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) through the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund (GDF).
“The Government of China is providing emergency aid to meet the needs of Timor-Leste. This also helps fulfill China’s commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and global poverty reduction,” says Wang Wenli, Chinese Ambassador to Timor-Leste.
The water tank can store up to 5,200 litres of water, enough to meet the daily needs of the entire community. In the village, technicians from Be’e Timor-Leste (BTL E.P.) began extending the main pipe under the curious watch of villagers, connecting 45 households in the community to the system, allowing families to fetch water from a tap right at their doorstep.
“This water will primarily benefit school-age children, allowing them to wash their hands before eating and bathe before going to school,” says UNICEF’s Olderico Pinto. “This access will directly help reduce childhood illnesses, particularly diarrhoea, and will gradually contribute to lowering malnutrition rates in Baucau.”
For the families of Boru‑baha, the installation of the water tank and the communal tap marks a profound shift in daily life. For the first time ever, Virginia places her jerry can beneath the tap, turns it on, and watches clear water pour into it. Then she fills another, her face bright with a smile.
“Today is the first day that I collected water from the new village water supply. It really helps me. Compared to collecting water from the spring, I will save a lot of time,” she says.
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