Our Committee of Management
We have a small but dedicated team who lead the implementation of our strategic plan to provide more accessible and better quality water supplies to rural villages in Timor-Leste. Over time, WET has moved from a grassroots organisation to one with committee members who have expertise in WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) project planning and implementation.
Our Committee of Management meets (mostly) monthly to plan both our water projects and the fundraising activities that underpin our capacity to pay for these projects. Committee meetings are held in Warrnambool Victoria, but we have Committee members who join us online via WhatsApp, Messenger, Zoom or similar.
The Committee welcomes new Committee members at any time. If you are interested, please email us at watereasttimor@gmail.com. Our current Committee members represent a broad range of interests, motivations and capacities to commit.
2023-4 Update
Following our AGM in November 2023, we are very pleased to welcome new office-bearers to our Committee. Our heartfelt thanks go to our outgoing Committee members, Greta Perry and Anne Maree Mugavin. Greta and Ann Maree both contributed untold amounts to WET during their lengthy terms as President and Secretary respectively. They are both still fully committed to the cause and will remain as WET members. Through their efforts there are many rural residents in Timor-Leste who now have access to clean water, and all the health and social benefits this brings.
Membership of our 2024 Committee is as follows.
Our Committee of Management meets (mostly) monthly to plan both our water projects and the fundraising activities that underpin our capacity to pay for these projects. Committee meetings are held in Warrnambool Victoria, but we have Committee members who join us online via WhatsApp, Messenger, Zoom or similar.
The Committee welcomes new Committee members at any time. If you are interested, please email us at watereasttimor@gmail.com. Our current Committee members represent a broad range of interests, motivations and capacities to commit.
2023-4 Update
Following our AGM in November 2023, we are very pleased to welcome new office-bearers to our Committee. Our heartfelt thanks go to our outgoing Committee members, Greta Perry and Anne Maree Mugavin. Greta and Ann Maree both contributed untold amounts to WET during their lengthy terms as President and Secretary respectively. They are both still fully committed to the cause and will remain as WET members. Through their efforts there are many rural residents in Timor-Leste who now have access to clean water, and all the health and social benefits this brings.
Membership of our 2024 Committee is as follows.
Miles Coverdale, ChairMiles joined Water for East Timor in September 2022. He had an opportunity to visit Timor-Leste in 2018 while fellow WET committee member Julie Kean was working there in an educational development capacity. Julie introduced Miles to Eddie Da Pina (in-country WET member) and Eddie took Miles on a tour of western parts of the country. He was able to see first hand how the installation of fresh spring water systems, some of which had been funded by WET, had significantly benefitted the lives of people in remote villages. When an opportunity arose to join the WET group in Warrnambool, Miles felt this would enable him to make a contribution in response to Eddie’s generosity and that of the village people he visited.
Yve Bayley, TreasurerYve has a background in finance, education and health, and as a founding member holds WET's organisational memory. Yve has been part of WET project teams that worked with Timorese to teach skills and assist in construction of water systems in villages. She has experienced first-hand the difference that clean water and sanitation make to the daily lives of Timorese villagers, and witnessed the corresponding educational and health benefits.
Yve would like to see WET continue to develop and improve WASH projects that are designed and delivered in Timor-Leste and are cost efficient, sustainable, and delivered on time. Geoff Spencer, Committee MemberGeoff is a Water Resources Management Specialist with over 50 years’ experience in Australia and internationally. He has been involved in a broad range of water resources and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) projects, so he identifies with the vision of WET and believes he can add value to WET and the people of Timor-Leste.
Geoff would like to utilise his technical skills to ensure that village projects in Timor Leste are designed correctly, are cost effective and provide equitable benefits to villagers. He also wants to be an active member of the WET executive to enhance the effectiveness of WET as an organisation. Eddie de Pina, Committee Member (Timor-Leste)Eddie was born in what was then known as East Timor. In 1975 when he was 10 years old he fled Timor-Leste with his parents and some of his siblings when Indonesian troops invaded his country. He did not return to Timor-Leste for another 25 years.
When the civil war ended in 1999, Eddie returned to East Timor to be with his people. He is now Director of the Bakhita Community Centre in Ermera District, and is our in-country adviser for our water projects. He leads the Water Team who operate from the Bakhita Centre and pass on their skills and knowledge to local villages. |
Liz Waters, Vice-President Liz Waters joined the WET Committee during 2023, and is fully committed to assisting WET to achieve its aims. Liz has a background in hospitality and events management, as well as a lengthy management role in TAFE training.
She is deeply committed to social justice, and sees her role in WET as an opportunity to change lives in a very practical and meaningful way. Mabel Mitchell, SecretaryMabel was formerly the Secretary of WET from 2012 to 2016 and has recently rejoined the Committee, bringing all that history and knowledge back to the table.
Mable has a professional background in health. She became a member of WET to contribute towards bringing clean water and sanitation to rural villages in Timor-Leste where the general health of the population is poor and infant mortality high. Children often miss school to fetch water from nearby springs or primitive water channels. The system of bringing water and sanitation to villages that was developed by WET has been shared with the local people who can now identify possible projects, and implement and maintain these systems. Julie Kean, Committee Member Julie worked in Timor-Leste in 2017-18 as a Skills Adviser with an Australian Government aid program. As she travelled across the country she saw the effects of poor sanitation and lack of reliable water supply, particularly on women and children.
On her return to Australia she was keen to contribute in some way to improving the lives and health outcomes for the Timorese people. WET provides this opportunity, and as a Committee member Julie is able to use her organisational and planning skills to help WET achieve its aims. Michael McCluskey, Committee MemberMichael was born and raised in Warrnambool and has spent most of his working life as a veterinarian. He has twice visited Timor-Leste to catch up with his niece who was working there, and that ignited his desire to help contribute in some positive way to the people of our closest neighbour.
Reliable and plentiful access to clean water is the life blood of any community and is something that can sometimes be taken for granted in many parts of the world. Joining WET to help with fundraising and also identifying and assessing worthy water projects was a logical choice as the pathway for Michael to give back to Timor-Leste. Seeing the many successful outcomes WET has achieved since his involvement has confirmed to Michael the value of joining the committee of WET. |