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JR Employee Volunteers Engineering Consulting in Central Java, Indonesia

JR Water Resource Group member John Agee journeyed to the Yogyakarta, Indonesia region to consult with local World Relief staff on the design of pour-flush latrines with on-site wastewater treatment. John and a Denver-area land developer provided technical support and training during their two-week visit to the world's most densely populated island. For training enhancement, the two volunteer consultants traveled to several villages in the Gantiwarno district, making site assessments with the local World Relief architect and engineer.

In May 2006, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake destroyed 95 percent of the homes in many of these villages near the city of Yogyakarta. As grants from the Indonesian government have provided for the remaining housing needs, World Relief has shifted their focus on sanitation training and building latrines.

Less than one half of the community currently uses any type of latrine, so the staff faces a major challenge in convincing them to practice better sanitation. World Relief would like to assist 350 families by providing the design and materials for new latrines with septic tanks and leach fields/pits.The Baltimore-based World Relief organization responds to multiple types of disasters around the world, and they currently have staff in 24 countries.

For more information on World Relief, visit http://www.wr.org.

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