The Sumba Foundation was created to lessen the harsh impacts of poverty on the Indonesian island of Sumba through village-based projects focusing on health, education, the rehabilitation and construction of clinics and schools, providing potable water sources, and income generation opportunities.

In order to achieve this the Nihiwatu Community Development Program was initiated.

The Program is based on our firsthand knowledge of the island and its people. For years prior to the beginning of the Program and community projects, staff consulted closely with the villagers about their most urgent needs and aspirations. 

Much information was also collected from anthropologists, community aid workers and government authorities.

The Foundation’s overall humanitarian aid philosophy is not sophisticated, but well tested: to help the people help themselves. By working closely with the villagers and encouraging participation in project planning and implementation of village-based initiatives, we can see that a long-term difference is being made. 

The Foundation feels strongly that well-managed, small-scale and cost-efficient projects bring the best results.  The Foundation is working initially in the isolated region of Rua and Lamboya along the southwest coast of West Sumba. Based on a large number of requests from other villages outside this area, the work will gradually expand to a meet these growing needs.

The primary goals of the Nihiwatu Development Program are:

• To make easily assessable clean water available to the villages;

• To establish reliable medical facilities within a reasonable walking distance from the villages;

• To combat malaria, the single most pressing health problem, through the Malaria Eradication Project;

• To design a village-based health education project, training local health workers in primary and preventive care, especially in the areas of sanitation and hygiene;

• To facilitate the improvement of primary schools through the rehabilitation and construction of classrooms, and the distribution of educational materials and school supplies;

• To create employment opportunities through the Nihiwatu Resort, the Sumba Foundation Coffee Project and other income generation initiatives.

As the Foundation strives to meet these goals, there is a growing confidence that a foundation is being built upon which the Sumbanese can build healthier and more secure lives free from poverty.