Northam
Avon Community Services
One of the three speaker deliveries that proved the idea before the official 108 began.
WAssup 108 Speakers Program
108 + 1
The 108 belongs to Western Australia. The +1 is a separate speaker-and-microphone kit for Tangmachu Central School in Lhuentse, Bhutan.
First things first
So, what is Lhuentse?
Lhuentse is one of Bhutan's 20 districts, in the mountainous north-east of the country. It covers about 2,854 square kilometres — roughly half the geographic area of metropolitan Perth.
The extraordinary part is the terrain. Within that one district the elevation ranges from about 600 metres to 5,800 metres above sea level. That is a vertical difference of 5.2 kilometres. For a Western Australian sense of scale, Mount Cooke — the highest point in the Darling Range — reaches only about 582 metres.
Lhuentse is culturally and historically important too. It is the ancestral home of Bhutan's Wangchuck royal dynasty, is renowned for intricate Kishuthara weaving, and contains significant Buddhist pilgrimage sites.
The +1 is going to Tangmachu Central School in Maenbi Gewog, about 20 kilometres from the district headquarters. The school teaches from PP to Class X and currently has about 302 students.
- 2,854 km² Approximate area of Lhuentse district.
- 600–5,800 m Elevation range within the one district.
- 302 Students at Tangmachu Central School.
Sources: Lhuentse Dzongkhag Administration and Tangmachu Central School .
Why this number?
Why 108 + 1?
The number 108 was deliberate from the beginning. I chose it because of Bhutan, because of Buddhism, and because of the special place 108 holds within Buddhist philosophy and practice.
I am not religious, but I have become more spiritual over time. Buddhist ideas around compassion, interconnectedness, service and community resonate with me, and the familiar 108 beads of a mala are one expression of the number's significance.
But the official program is Western Australian: 108 speaker-and-microphone kits across WA. Tangmachu is not speaker number 109. It is deliberately separate.
108 across Western Australia. +1 at Tangmachu Central School, Lhuentse.
A very WAssup coincidence
Northam. Denmark. Fitzroy Crossing.
Before the 108 officially began, WAssup had already delivered three speaker kits. They went to Northam, Denmark and Fitzroy Crossing and proved the concept could work.
Later, when I tried to understand the journey from Thimphu to Lhuentse in Western Australian terms, those same three places came back into my head: Northam for how relatively close the two Bhutanese places look on a map, Denmark for the much greater road distance, and Fitzroy Crossing for the fact that the trip becomes a serious multi-day road journey.
They are not exact kilometre-for-kilometre equivalents. They are simply my WA mental map. What made me smile was realising I had landed on the exact three communities that had already received the proof-of-concept speakers.
Coincidence? Probably. Pattern recognition? Almost certainly. A dash of autism thrown in? Quite possibly. Either way, I like the connection.
Denmark
Denmark Community Resource Centre
One of the three speaker deliveries that proved the idea before the official 108 began.
Fitzroy Crossing
Marra Worra Worra Aboriginal Corporation
One of the three speaker deliveries that proved the idea before the official 108 began.
An outsider looking in
Connections that strike a chord.
Bhutan had already influenced how I thought about WAssup. Its De-Suung initiative centres on service, responsibility and community, with participants known as DeSuups. I could not resist the wordplay: DeSuup. WAssup. Western Australian DeSuup. There is no formal affiliation; it is the shared idea of community service that interests me.
Bhutan has also made me think about First Nations Australia. These are very different cultures with different histories and traditions, and I am an outsider to both. But I notice echoes around connection to land, family, community, spirituality and responsibility to place. Even the use of smoke in ceremony appears in very different forms in both worlds.
I am not trying to make different cultures the same. I am simply looking in, listening, and noticing where ideas seem to rhyme.
To Bhutanese Western Australians
Bhutanese Sandgropers: this is an invitation.
Bhutanese people are building lives not only in Perth, but in Western Australian communities such as Northam, Bunbury, Manjimup and Busselton. I would love Bhutanese Western Australians to become part of the 108 story.
That invitation is for individuals, families and community groups — and especially for Bhutanese-owned businesses and businesspeople. You might contribute part of the cost of a speaker, sponsor a complete kit, bring several businesses together around one placement, run a small fundraiser, collect Containers for Change, or connect WAssup with others who want to help.
The WA speakers would not be “for Bhutanese people”. They would be shared community assets held by suitable youth organisations, Aboriginal organisations, community services and grassroots groups. They might be used for youth activities, music, cultural events, workshops, celebrations, meetings and local gatherings.
For me there is something meaningful in Bhutanese Western Australians helping strengthen the wider communities they now call home. It is community service made practical.
Separately, anyone who feels a connection to Lhuentse can also help make the Tangmachu +1 happen. And if this relationship eventually opens the door to other communities in Bhutan receiving similar speaker kits, we can explore that together. Those would remain outside the Western Australian 108.
Individuals. Community groups. Businesses. Let's talk.
If you are a Bhutanese Sandgroper and the idea resonates with you, there is no single required way to help. A few dollars, a business sponsorship, a shared fundraiser, a container collection or an introduction can all move a speaker closer to a community.
Community helps community
108 here. +1 there.
Three speakers proved the idea in Northam, Denmark and Fitzroy Crossing. Another 108 will travel across Western Australia. And one more will head to Tangmachu Central School in the mountains of eastern Bhutan.
Community helps community.