The Search for Unsung Heroes

Interview with Past Chairman Joseph Gonzales and Jerrold Ong.

Interview with 2019 winner Mr. Auke IdzengaDutch-born marine engineer Auke Idzenga is the inventor of the ram pump technology promoted by the Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, Inc. (AIDFI) in rural communities in Negros Island, Philippines and elsewhere.Auke worked at a shipping company in The Netherlands for two years before deciding to use his technical knowledge to help the poor. In 1985, Auke came to the Philippines and worked in the socio-econ omic section of a labor union for sugar workers in Negros, a province known for its vast sugarcane plantations. Auke together with other sugar workers envisioned an organization that would "cater to the organizational, agricultural, and technical needs of the agrarian reform areas and those of upland farmers and communities" in Negros. AIDFI was formally registered as an NGO in 1992.Auke and AIDFI embarked on their first project in 1990, the development of a hydraulic ram pump model that can supply water without the use of any external energy. AIDFI's flagship project was the first model installed in Brgy. Mambugsay, Cauayan, Negros Occidental which yielded a volume of 1,500 to 72,000 liters of water per day.Today, AIDFI has become a self-reliant NGO which generates its funds through its own income generating projects. It is committed to the development and promotion of appropriate technologies and sustainable development; effectiveness and efficiency in development management; and the empowerment communities, gender equity, and cultural diversity.Auke lives in Bacolod with his wife and four kids.