Notes before 6

At 6 p.m., this Habitat office in Timor-Leste closes. Now I am rushing to jot down some notes. I have noticed my last entry was on 03 Jan yet; and it's most excerpts from Isa's letter.

What can I tell you now? It has been raining here all week. I arrived here 09 Jan. Arnold Seloterio and Tony Irving were with me. Butch Batilong, the Habitat Director here, met us at the airport. He whisked us from the airport to the hotel, then to the office. We spent the whole afternoon planning for the poverty database project here which would be implemented in three out of thirteen districts.

In two days, the survey tools were translated into Bahasa and reproduced. Then for three days, all thirty volunteers were trained on the use of the survey tools. The field supervisors had been trained prior to this and they helped in providing inputs. Then the survey began almost simulataneously in all areas. As of today, barely a week after the start of the survey, a total of 190 questionnaires have been returned with complete data; the encoder has started the task of putting the data in the software called the Poverty Database and Monitoring System Software (PDMSS), developed in Bohol, Philippines by the Bohol Local Development Foundation, in cooperation with the Provincial Planning and Development Office.

Tony Irving modified the software based on revisions done on the survey tools. He left last Saturday, 21 January, for the Philippines with his job accomplished. He is now in negotiations with World Vision Timor Leste for his return sometime in March on a consultancy arrangement.
Arnold has accepted Habitat's offer of an extended three-month consultancy on database management.

We are proud of what these two guys are doing for Timor-Leste, one of the world's top 20 poorest countries. Their efforts will contribute to reducing poverty incidence here, no doubt.
Let's move on ...