Fifty-two people in Rabaul District have finished a four-day training to collect important information for the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH) program. This training is part of a bigger plan by the National Department of Planning and Monitoring to improve water and sanitation in the area. Mr. Takele Tuna, the National WaSH Program Coordinator, said the training is important because it helps create plans based on real information. "Our approach is to build capacity at the sub-national level to enable districts to take the bottom-up approach, community leadership, and ownership of projects," said Mr. Tuna. The trainees come from four local-level government (LLG) areas: Balanataman, Kombiu, Rabaul Urban, and Watom, and learned how to use a special app called mWater to collect data, which will help in making the five-year WaSH plan for the district. Mr. Tuna said the information they collect will show the current situation of water, sanitation, and hygiene in the area. "This survey will provide valuable insights into the current water, sanitation, and hygiene situation in the district," he explained. The data will help identify where things need to be better and guide future projects to make sure communities are healthy and safe. Mr. Tuna also praised the Rabaul and Pomio District Development Authorities for supporting the WaSH program with funding and for successfully setting up WaSH Committees.