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| Australia - East Timor Friendship Association (SA)
Inc AETFA, c/- Global Education Centre, 1st Floor Torrens Building 220 Victoria Square, Adelaide, S.A. 5000 Web: http://www.communitywebs.org/AustEastTimorFriendship/: Email: William.Fisher@postgrads.unisa.edu.au | |
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Where the money goes Australia - East Timor Friendship Association (SA) Inc. Rebuilding Education in East Timor As a teacher trainer in East Timor I saw at first hand the needs and pressures on the public sector. The East Timorese government have no tax base to fund roads, schools, hospitals and infrastructure and so will be dependent on revenues from oil and gas deposits. The government is paying its teachers an average of $US90 a month and relies on support from NGOs for teacher training. The legacy of the Indonesian occupation and the scorched earth of 1999 was an education system in ruins. Schools have had to be rebuilt and most of the teachers had fled. 50% to 60% of the population is illiterate. Most schools now have a roof, desks, chairs and a battered blackboard. But no textbooks or equipment, and chalk is doled out one stick at a time. Donated materials cannot always be distributed because the rooms have no windows or a lockable door. Children fail and drop out, particularly as it costs about a dollar a month to keep a child in school. Only 75% of children complete their primary education and 30% complete secondary. I worked for a year in the Catholic Teachers' College set up by the Bishop of Baucau. We opened with 53 first years who still attend despite sickness, being away from home and trying to study without electricity. The town of Baucau has not had any electricity since New Years day 2004 due to maintenance problems and the lack of parts for the generator. The Ministry of Education has launched the first new curriculum, beginning with kindergartens. The college is conducting the in-service training to implement the curriculum in the kindergartens of which there are about 60 The teachers are very keen and willing to try new ideas despite their lack of equipment. It has been a privilege to work with these people. It is planned to have the College entirely in Timorese hands within ten years and we always worked with a counterpart so that our skills would be passed on. Volunteers like myself are in a small way compensating for the way in which our government is treating the Timorese at the oil negotiations. The country will be in a dire situation unless these revenues become available. We may see our nearest neighbour go under without their only hope of income. Crystell Halliday Letters of Appreciation Institute Católico para Formação de Professores Baucau 20 April 2004 Dear Don _________________________
All AETFA members are volunteers. We don't have any "overheads". Our funds come from membership subscriptions, donations and organised fundraising events like dinners and films. Our fundraising efforts in 2004 have been very successful. Full details will be available on this page shortly.
Funds raised go to projects in East Timor and to political lobbying and awareness-raising here in Australia. Our political lobbying activities increase at election time. Last year funds raised went to the Alola Foundation and to a women's shelter in East Timor. This year, funds have gone to East Timor's education system, to areas of need identified by our long-term member Crystell Halliday, who worked as a volunteer in East Timor for 12 months. Below are details.
Timor Leste
Up dated on November 25th 2004
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