This issue of East Timor Update is given over to the Secretary’s summary Report of his recent visit to the country.
This begins with some general comments about the present situation in East Timor before describing the projects currently being supported by The Peter Trust.
The Bulletin includes a number of appeals for help that were made to the Secretary during his three-week stay in the territory.
The General Situation
The most evident sign of positive development is the disappearance of all the refugee camps. In 2006 over 100,000 people made temporary homes in the grounds of convents, churches, seminaries, the Cathedral, and in the schools, colleges and orphanages run by various Religious Congregations. Families even took up residence in the Diocesan Offices. These IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) were taking refuge from the violence of the civil strife that arose as a result of widespread disaffection with the Government then in office, the lack of development, a very high level of unemployment, and continuing poverty for the great majority of the people.
A coalition of political parties (AMP), led by the former President Xanana Gusmao, took the reins of power and has achieved the resettlement of all the IDPs in their home villages and a generally peaceful ethos. There are no more marauding gangs of youths and people can go about without fear by day and at night.
The more settled social scene has raised the confidence of investors and there has been some commercial and small-scale industrial development. However, most of these enterprises are owned and managed by outsiders - from Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, China, the Philippines, and Indonesia - who have the financial capital, skills, and experience that is required.
There are some impressive new buildings in the capital Dili – the Presidential Palace, the Foreign Ministry, and the embassy of the European Union for example – but all were built with foreign money and with expatriate labour.
There has been little development of national infrastructure (telecommunications, power, water supply, etc) outside of Dili and the roads everywhere have been steadily deteriorating: it can take hours of discomfort to cover relatively short distances.
Some new school buildings can been seen, and most of the 750 that were wrecked in 1999 by the departing Indonesian military and their proxy militias have been made at least ‘operational’ – but furnishing is minimal, equipment is rudimentary, sanitary conditions basic, and there is a severe shortage of trained teachers.
Health care remains limited and very dependent upon international assistance - most conspicuously from Cuba. There is a severe shortage of doctors and other medical professionals (including competent administrators), quality medicines are in limited supply - and are still inaccessible to many people who live in rural areas and in the mountain regions. The provision of care in mental health (including trauma, which is endemic), for chronic disability, and in dentistry is minimal.
Revenue from the oil and gas resources beneath the Timor Sea are building up in the national coffers but the (prudent) decision of national Government to restrict access to these funds - and the general lack of managerial expertise and experience - inhibit the undertaking of the large scale development projects that are urgently needed.
Peter Trust Projects
The Secretary visited all fourteen of the projects currently being assisted by the Peter Trust and was greeted with affection and appreciation by all beneficiaries. In many instances the formal welcome included the traditional Tebe tebe dance and the offering of token gifts of betel nut leaves (to chew) and tobacco (to smoke). In every instance a tais (locally woven scarf) was presented, and community leaders made speeches of thanks to the Trustees and to all who contribute to the Trust funds.
Orphanages at Dili & Soibada
There are 55 boys and girls aged 8 – 16 in the community in central Dili. The Trust has been assisting them with school expenses (uniforms, books, satchels, exam fees, etc) and with food and fuel costs (for the generator, truck, and the two 4x4 vehicles which are shared with the distant community in Soibada in the mountains).
With funding from the Trust a workshop has been established at the Dili premises equipped with a welding torch, spray gun, and various other tools, which have enabled the older boys to effect simple vehicle repairs and also to make metal bunk beds and other items for their own and other needful groups.
Adjoining this facility and as part of the one project, is a sewing room equipped with several machines with which the girls are able to make and repair clothes. The costs of a small tractor was also provided by the Trust which has been used at the plot of land at Hera (just outside Dili) to prepare the ground for the production of fruit and vegetables, and for the same purpose at the farm at Natarbora on the south coast to which the orphans go in school holidays.
For several years the Trust has been meeting the costs of food, fuel, and school tuition for 80 residents at the orphanage in Soibada. However, this has now become a boarding school for the children of families from around the territory of East Timor territory who want them to live in a caring community under the direction of Religious Sisters. Moreover the school is to be relocated as soon as possible to Salao, where better premises can be developed and access is easier. The Trustees will therefore need to give consideration to the appropriateness of further funding to this institution, the character and purpose of which has changed significantly. Feeding the 55 orphans at Dili (and the development of their local kitchen gardens at Hera) may be regarded as a suitable alternative within the general aims of the Trust.
Children with Disability
The Peter Trust continues to support the work of the ALMA Sisters in Dili for children with physical disabilities and handicaps. The work is now based in premises recently acquired and adapted (with Trust help) which include the Sisters’ own Convent, meeting and recreational rooms, and provision for several temporary residents in need of special treatment. Besides the work undertaken here the Sisters visit as many as fifty homes a week (using the motor bike purchased by the Trust). The Sisters wish to expand their work beyond Dili, but to do so they really need a four-wheeled vehicle that is adequate for the poor roads, and to carry equipment and personnel.
An important dimension of the ALMA Sisters’ pastoral care is to help the families accept and respond to their disabled children with love. Many feel themselves to be cursed by God and are ashamed of their handicapped offspring/siblings, hiding them away inside their homes.
Child Nutrition, Women’s Workshop
At Railaku, 40 km south of Dili, the Trust has been providing nutritional supplement three times a week for over 100 children. Most children in East Timor suffer from malnutrition - which has a detrimental effect upon their growth, overall health, and attention span. The SPC Congregation of Religious Sisters who have provided this supplement explained that they will now be receiving the necessary funds for this programme from an Australian NGO that specialises in child care and the Trustees are invited to consider assisting with alternative projects.
At Railaku the Trust previously provided funds for a bakery, and for a simple machine to make breeze-blocks. Both facilities are now provided locally and independently and the remaining funds for these two projects donated by the Trust have been re-deployed in the equipping of a small meeting room for local women. This has been provided with sewing machines and other equipment for the women to acquire practical skills, and where courses in hygiene, mother and baby care, cooking, etc, are offered.
Solar Panels
Nearby is the High School for which the Peter Trust recently provided Solar Panels. This has made it possible for the premises to be used after sunset, and has enabled 220 students to study ICT – nine laptops have been provided in a designated ‘computer suite’ adjoining which is a sewing room supplied with electric machines. School staff members have been instructed in the maintenance and repair of the panels - installed for the Peter Trust by the Alternative Technology Association, an Australian NGO. Such provision is commended to the Trustees as of great practical and lasting benefit. Forty of the students who come from distant mountain villages are provided with their weekly accommodation costs by the Trust.
Oecussi – Boarding House
In the East Timorese enclave of Oecussi (situated in West Timor) the Trust has enabled the completion and furnishing of an asrama (boarding house) for 25 girls and - currently - 7 boys from mountain villages to enable them to attend high school and receive important social education while living in community. These premises include living quarters for two Religious Sisters – although as yet none have been assigned. It is hoped to upgrade and expand the provision in order to accommodate 25 boys.
Suai Hospital & Mobile Clinic
The Trust has provided for the training and wages of two nurses and a driver/mechanic/handyman for several years, and assisted with the purchase of quality medicines. Recently the Trust has also waged a Laboratory Technician who is engaged in sample analysis, etc for the detection and treatment of various diseases. The clinic is taken to five surrounding villages each week to the benefit of several thousand local people. The hospital has recently been designated by the National Government as a local centre for the treatment of TB and a doctor (a specialist in TB and family medicine) is now part-funded by the Ministry of Health. However, an appeal was made to the Trust to help meet the remaining cost of her salary since she is engaged in the wide range of work undertaken by the SPC Sisters and their assistants at the hospital and through the mobile clinic.
Graduation of Students
Pinto Cardoso Manuel Soares and Jeremias Baptista Gomes, supported in their tertiary studies by the Trust for the past five years, both graduated at Yogykarta and Kupang Universities this April/May. They are currently looking for full time work in East Timor and are working part time with local/international NGOs and with the Dili Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission.
Appeals
The Peter Trust has been asked to help fund:
Sulivan Auxiladora Kalria da Silva, a former orphan at Soibada, with the costs of a 1 year computer course in Jakarta ($1800 including board & lodging, air fare, visa, tuition).
Genivia da Silva Marcal from Natarbora with costs (initially for 1 year) of travel to and accommodation in Manila (Philippines) for English language tuition ($4150) in preparation for training as a Nurse (and in due course) as a Doctor. Genivia has an outstanding academic record and is recommended by the Dominican Sisters (at Natarbora) as meriting the support of the Peter Trust.
Many thanks to all our Friends and Supporters and to all donors whose generosity is enabling an increasing number of projects in health care, education, income generation, technical and leadership training to be established and maintained in East Timor. The need for your assistance continues to be very great: it will be at least a generation before the people of East Timor can develop their country so as to provide adequately for their basic needs – until then all that we can do to help is much appreciated!
