to support a
Master in Integrated Water Management
at Griffith University's International WaterCentre
This landmark scholarship represents a strategic partnership between The Rotary Foundation, Rotary South Pacific, District 9620, the E-Club of WASH (D9999), and Griffith University's International WaterCentre — for advancing professional WASH capacity across the South Pacific.
Inaugural Rotary South Pacific WASH Scholarship Recipient
Patrick Pagkale, from the Island of Fiji, and sponsored by the Rotary Club of Suva Peninsula, has been selected as the inaugural Rotary South Pacific WASH Scholarship recipient and will begin his studies at Griffith University's International WaterCentre in July, 2026.
Upon completion of my Master of Integrated Water Management (MIWM), I see my role as strengthening the resilience and leadership of WASH in Pacific Communities so they can shape and secure their own safe water future. My main focus will be building local skills and confidence — supporting water operators, village committees, and community leaders with knowledge and tools to manage and maintain their WASH systems independently.
— Patrick Pagkale, Inaugural Rotary South Pacific WASH Scholar
When asked where he saw himself after completing his studies, Patrick first thanked Rotary for the opportunity before sharing his vision for transforming water management capacity across Pacific island communities.
The Rotary South Pacific WASH Scholarship is designed to increase professional WASH capacity in the South Pacific by annually funding one or more Rotary scholars at Griffith University's award-winning International WaterCentre (IWC) in Brisbane, QLD, Australia. Rotary WASH scholars will spend two trimesters in residence at IWC and complete a third trimester back home in the islands leading a WASH project or program.
Recruitment for potential WASH scholar/s is underway
It is a three-step process and so takes some time. First, scholars must be accepted into Griffith's Graduate School. Once accepted, applicants can submit the Rotary scholarship application to the committee, attaching the Griffith acceptance letter. The selection committee will then review the applications and rank the scholarship applicants. Depending on funding, a scholarship will be offered to one or more scholars. Once the offer has been accepted, Rotarians write the Global Grant and submit it to TRF, no later than 30 September. It can take up to three months for The Rotary Foundation to review the scholarship grant application.
Awarded scholar/s begin their studies in February 2027.
"I'm just proud that my District 9620 stepped up and provided the necessary funding for this inaugural scholarship."
— Robin Archer, District 9620 Scholarship Chair
Recruitment for scholars and funding for the 2nd Annual Rotary South Pacific WASH Scholarship/s is underway.
More information and the Griffith University and Rotary application are available at: https://watercentre.org/education/rotary-pacific-scholarship/
If you would like to make a personal donation to help support the Rotary South Pacific WASH Scholarship, you may do so through the button below that connects to the Rotary e-Club's PayPal account. As the Rotary e-Club of WASH is a New Zealand organization and not a registered charity, your donation is not a tax-deductible expense. You can be assured that your donation will go toward funding Rotary South Pacific WASH Scholarship/s.
Your contribution helps support the next generation of WASH leaders across the South Pacific. Every donation makes a difference.
If your Rotary Club or District has questions, would like a presentation, or wishes to make a pledge to help fund this strategic initiative, please contact a member of the scholarship team below.
Across the South Pacific, access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene remains one of the region's most urgent development challenges. Despite progress in recent decades, millions of people across Pacific Island countries still lack reliable access to clean drinking water, safe toilets, and basic handwashing facilities.
The impacts are significant. Unsafe water, poor sanitation, and inadequate hygiene contribute to diarrheal disease, child illness, malnutrition, school absenteeism, and reduced economic productivity. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 84,000 people in the Western Pacific Region die each year from water-related diseases.
While some Pacific Island countries report relatively high access to basic drinking water services, major inequalities remain between urban centres and remote outer islands. Current regional data shows:
Pacific Island nations are among the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world. Rising sea levels, saltwater intrusion, cyclones, droughts, flooding, and extreme weather events continue to damage water infrastructure and contaminate freshwater sources. For many low-lying atolls, freshwater lenses are shrinking, while prolonged droughts place additional pressure on already fragile water supplies. Building climate-resilient WASH systems is therefore essential not only for health, but for long-term community resilience, disaster preparedness, and sustainable development.
Infrastructure alone is not enough. Many WASH systems across the Pacific fail prematurely because communities, utilities, schools, and local governments often lack the technical skills, resources, governance structures, and maintenance capacity required for long-term operation.
Building human capacity is one of the most important investments in sustainable WASH development.
Effective WASH programmes must strengthen:
Sustainable WASH solutions in the South Pacific must be:
Supporting reliable water supply systems, rainwater harvesting, groundwater protection, desalination, water safety planning, and climate-resilient infrastructure.
Improving access to safe toilets, wastewater management, handwashing facilities, menstrual hygiene management, and hygiene behaviour change programmes.
Training local technicians, community leaders, utilities, schools, and government agencies to sustainably manage WASH services and infrastructure.
Working alongside communities to strengthen local ownership, inclusion, gender equity, and long-term sustainability.
Designing systems that can withstand cyclones, flooding, droughts, and sea-level rise while strengthening emergency preparedness and recovery.
Improving WASH planning, monitoring, financing, and evidence-based decision making across Pacific Island countries.
Access to clean water, safe sanitation, and hygiene is fundamental to health, education, dignity, economic opportunity, and climate resilience. Investing in WASH infrastructure alone is not enough. Lasting change requires investing equally in people — building the knowledge, leadership, technical skills, and local capacity needed to sustain services for future generations.
"The return on investment in the provision of clean water, adequate sanitation and working to strengthen hygiene practices is between $5 and $21 for every dollar invested. Driving WASH program success requires investment first of all in building human capacity."
— Prof. Brian McIntosh, IWC Postgraduate Advisor
The Rotary South Pacific WASH Scholarship enables young professionals to attain the skills to make a lasting impact in their local and regional communities. IWC's interdisciplinary structure is extremely relevant for Pacific practitioners, who often need to operate across multiple roles simultaneously.
The strategic partnership between Rotary and the International WaterCentre (IWC) at Griffith University was forged because IWC's Master in Integrated Water Management is one of the few water master's programs specifically suited to the Pacific reality: small islands, climate pressure, WASH challenges, donor systems, and the need for leaders who can integrate engineering, governance, ecology, and community development together.
For these same reasons, South Pacific Islanders should consider the International WaterCentre at Griffith University because the program is unusually aligned with the actual water realities of Pacific Island countries — not just generic engineering or hydrology.
The strongest reason to select the IWC is that the program is built around integrated water management, which matches the Pacific's biggest challenges:
Most conventional water engineering degrees focus heavily on large urban infrastructure systems from Europe, North America, or continental Asia. The Griffith/IWC program is intentionally broader and more suited to island contexts.
Griffith/IWC teaches "Whole-Water-System Thinking" — what the Pacific needs, as Pacific water problems are rarely just engineering problems. A water issue in Fiji, Samoa, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, or Vanuatu usually also involves:
The Master of Integrated Water Management (MIWM) explicitly combines:
The Program has an Asia-Pacific and Pacific Islands Focus. That matters because many global water programs barely cover:
IWC has a stronger regional orientation than many traditional engineering faculties. It is also strong on WASH and Development, not just utilities. The MIWM program specifically highlights:
"A trusted research and capacity development partner for water security in the Pacific Islands."
— International WaterCentre Strategic Goal
To find out more about the International WaterCentre go to: https://watercentre.org/education/
