Abundant Water

20/12/2025

17/12/2025

"[There’s] a vision of the universe that tells us, undeniably, how... rare, and precious we all are! A vision that tells us that we belong to something that is greater than ourselves, that we are not — that none of us — are alone.." - Carl Sagan (NASA astronomer, planetary scientist, author of ‘Contact’ and ‘The Pale Blue Dot’)

Across the region, in each of the areas Abundant Water has been working, local communities and the families that give them strength will celebrate their traditions of Christmas.

In Laos the Buddhist tradition is characterised by themes of kindness, generosity, and goodwill. Some may exchange gifts and share meals. Laotian dishes like Laap (minced meat salad), Sticky Rice (Khao Niaow), spicy Jeow B**g chili paste, grilled Mekong sausages, and tangy Khao P**n noodle soup, will all be on offer.

In the Philippines, Christmas or ‘Pasko’, has already started. It peaks in December with religious observances all centred around family, faith and food (like lechon and bibingka). The dishes blend Filipino, Spanish, and American customs in a festive cacophony of savory meats, noodle dishes, sweet rice cakes, creamy desserts, roasted Lechon, sweet Filipino Spaghetti, savory Lumpiang Shanghai (spring rolls), tangy Kare-Kare, and sweet treats like Bibingka, P**o Bumbong, Leche Flan, and colorful Buko Pandan Salad, all essential for the traditional Noche Buena feast.

In Timor-Leste, Christmas is a based on the Roman Catholic tradition, a legacy of Portuguese colonisation. The Christmas feast blends local ingredients like breadfruit, fish, and goat mixed in with Portuguese influences. It features dishes such as Ikan Lalar (grilled fish), Sasate (satay), Tukir (bamboo-cooked goat stew), and coconut-infused Katupah (woven palm rice).

Wherever you are we’d like to share our hope that these Christmas traditions, of food, family and community reinforce or perhaps renew your optimism and confidence. The volunteers and Program Managers at Abundant Water believe that that we all ‘belong to something that is greater than ourselves’ and that the continuous quest to provide a safe water supply to everyone who needs it, however it is achieved, will only ever end in success.

So, wherever you are a very Merry Christmas.

Pictured: Australian volunteers in Timor-Leste gather for a beachside Christmas Party.

08/12/2025

CLEAN WATER SAVES LIVES

Seventy one percent of the Earth's surface is covered in water, but only a fraction - 3.5% - is fresh enough to drink. For developing countries, creating a reliable supply of drinking water is a huge developmental challenge, but one of the prerequisites for self-reliance. Because clean water saves lives. It strengthens entire communities. It reduces the incidence of disease, decreases health costs and has the potential to lift people out of poverty. Transforming communities to a future where fresh water is abundant, safe and reliable, available to everyone, is the most powerful, cost-effective public health development that can be achieved.

BELOW LEFT: Vaclav Rabas, Abundant Water's Project Manager in Laos and the Philippines, stands with teachers and students from a local school in Laos.

BELOW RIGHT: The Deputy Head of Mission at the Czech Embassy in Bangkok, Michal Švéda holds a filter piece for a new water filter.

26/11/2025

Abundant Water has been active in Laos since 2009. Laos is an ancient society, the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Thailand, Myanmar and China to the north and west, Vietnam to the east, and Cambodia to the south. Recently, a grant from the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Bangkok enabled the installation of clean drinking water infrastructure in Luang Prabang Province at nine schools and five health centres.

In a new developing partnership with Econoxlaos, Abundant Water’s Project Manager, Vaclav Rabas conducted vendor training for six members as part of Econox’s Free Laos initiative. This is another small step in building local capacity in improving public health and helping to widen community engagement.

You can read more about Abundant Water’s project in Laos here: https://www.abundantwater.org/laos
You can read more about Abundant Water’s Project Manager, Vaclav Rabas here: https://www.abundantwater.org/news/2025/9/22/vaclav-rabas-philippines
You can donate here: https://www.abundantwater.org/donate

19/11/2025

Chris Draper, Abundant Water's Project Manager in Timor-Leste, will return to Australia in December. In his wake, he leaves behind a strong community of supporters, partners and a successor, John Dashe. Chris will be the first to tell you there have been challenges, successes, and failures - it's a fascinating story.

You can read the full interview here: https://www.abundantwater.org/news/2025/11/4/chris-draper-interview

Donate here: https://www.abundantwater.org/donate

05/11/2025

A MAFFRA DRAPER HAS FASHIONED A NEW WAY.
A great project, a great team and a great future.

After 6 years working for Abundant Water, Chris Draper, the program supervisor in Timor-Leste, is coming home. He hands over to a thriving network of vendors and supporters.

Our local clean water champions (pictured below), Joanito, Luiz, Mirandolina, Paulina, Ernestina, Lino, Allianca, Auxilia, Libania, Jevina, and many, many more are now joined by Dashe, a locally based English teacher and Abundant Water’s new program supervisor.

Partners such as Caltech based in Dili, continues to supply the project with tables made from locally sourced recycled materials. Reece in Australia has offered financial and technical support, U.S. Embassy - Dili, Timor-Leste, Embassy of Canada to Indonesia and Timor-Lestey, local and other international donors have contributed much appreciated practical assistance to the Abundant Water team. They have helped expand the project, delivering thousands of water filters to rural, regional and remote communities.

You can support Abundant Water’s Timor-Leste program by liking, commenting, reposting and reading Chris’s story here:
https://www.abundantwater.org/news/2025/11/4/chris-draper-interview.

You can also donate here: https://www.abundantwater.org/donate

28/10/2025

🌴 CLEAN WATER & GOOD STORIES TRAVEL EVEN FURTHER! - Calape, Bohol 💧

In Calape, Principal Nicko Basig from Tultugan Elementary School is one of Abundant Water’s local clean water champions. Nicko has been a huge contributor, guiding Vaclav and his team through the region, especially to schools that aren’t even on the map! 🗺️

Together, AW has reached four more remote schools, supporting another 416 students and 30 teachers. Most of these schools rely on spring or rainwater, so water filters make a real difference — helping children stay healthy and avoid waterborne illness.

Nicko is a real hands-on leader; his word carries weight, and his local knowledge has been invaluable. In the Philippines, strong community ties matter — once local supervisors or mayors give their support, everything flows smoothly. 🙌

And AW’s project team has learned something else too — once one school receives filters, others quickly want to join in! Word travels fast, helped along by the strong connections (and a few karaoke sessions 🎤🍷) that bring local educators together.

Thanks to people like Nicko, clean water — and good stories — travel even further. 🇵🇭💙



Below: (Left) Nicko Basig, principal, Tultugan Elementary School and Vaclav Rabas (right), Abundant Water's Project Manager in the Philippines with teachers from a local school.

21/10/2025

NEITHER RAIN NOR HEAT NOR EARTHQUAKE…ABUNDANT WATER DELIVERS

Abundant Water’s Project Manager Vaclav Rabas was on his way to take more water filters to schools in the province of Calape when the last earthquake hit. His rental car shook so badly he thought several tires had exploded at once. But as any local resident will tell you earthquakes in the Philippines are nothing to worry about. Since September 30 there have been 5 major events, 8,438 earthquakes in the last ten years. When Vaclav finally arrived at his destination, a remote school located in the mountains the students had been sent home, but the teachers had stayed behind waiting for him.

READ MORE: https://www.abundantwater.org/news/2025/9/22/vaclav-rabas-philippines

DONATE HERE: https://www.abundantwater.org/donate

14/10/2025

We are looking for a treasurer! AW runs projects in Timor-Leste and the Philippines, delivering clean, safe water solutions to communities across these regions. It's important, challenging work, and you'll play a key role in ensuring success. You'll get experience in working within an NGO and be able to contribute across the organisation.

APPLY: [email protected]

08/10/2025

GO, YOU GOOD THING!

DENNIS BASTAS, SCIENCE TEACHER, JOINS ABUNDANT WATER

Vaclav Rabas, Abundant Water’s Project Manager in the Philippines, has a new team member. Dennis Bastas is a science teacher. He knows that local drinking water contains a range of dangerous pollutants- including traces of E. coli, nitrates, arsenic, lead, and disinfection by-products like trihalomethanes. And bad water means sick pupils, so now he has taken on the responsibility to maintain water filters across the district’s schools.

He’s based on the island of Bohol, around 900 km from Manila, which has a population of about 1.4 million. Approximately 33% of Bohol's people are under the age of 15. Tap water is not trusted; for most expensive bottled water has been the norm.

Vaclav and his team continue to make progress, having already delivered over 300 water filters to local schools. These filters ensure a supply of safe, clean water—but every so often, the filters must be inspected, and some internal components need to be replaced.

Dennis comes with a reputation as a ‘fix-it man’. His ongoing work is already proving valuable in supporting the health of every student in his district.

READ MORE: https://www.abundantwater.org/news/2025/9/22/vaclav-rabas-philippines

DONATE HERE: https://www.abundantwater.org/donate

04/10/2025

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN 🇹🇱 TIMOR? IS THERE PROGRESS IN THE 🇵🇭 PHILIPPINES? HOW ARE LOCALS BENEFITING? WHAT COMES NEXT?

Abundant Water Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Date: Monday, 27 October 2025
Time: 18:00 – 18:45
Location: Birch Building – 35 Science Road, ANU Engineering School, Small Meeting Room 2.27

Abundant Water is a volunteer-run organisation based in Canberra. It assists local people in Timor-Leste and Bohol in the Philippines deliver health and hygiene benefits using the power of social business to design and develop sustainable, scalable clean drinking water projects.