International Relations

Education

East Timor is the world’s newest nation, with half its population of 1,130,000 under 21. In the exodus of Indonesians, the nation lost 20% of its primary school teachers and 80% of secondary teachers. All schools in Suai and the surrounding district were razed in 1999. Establishing a system of nine years compulsory free education remains a huge challenge. In 2012 under 10% of the Timor-Leste national budget is dedicated to Education. The population youth bubble puts strain on the building of resources in Education with demand in rural areas still very slow to improve and a huge shortage of learning materials and infrastructure. As part of the Strategic Plan, Friends of Suai/Covalima is dedicated to assist our Covalima Friends with education support as a ongoing high priority.

BIG SHIPMENT READY FOR SUAI/COVALIMA

	It’s been a big few weeks with donations for Suai/Covalima. We have completed three separate missions. We have packed up 200 primary school tables and chairs and delivered to the dock for shipment donated from Harrisfield and Springvale Rise Primary Schools.
	Thanks FoS/C is very grateful to the principals Meredith Iaconese and Annette Hilton and their staff for organising the donation and also to the great team of volunteers Glenn, Megs, Patsy, Carmel, Des and Stuart and Declan, CoPP handyman for their help at dismantling and packing.
	English Language Class Sets FoS/C benefited from a donation from the closure of the foreign language bookshop The Bookery through the Australia East Timor Association (ATEA). We were able to send 17 boxes of English Language class-sets for students and teachers in the Covalima district. The books will assist the Association of English Language Teachers in Covalima and their English students. Thanks to FoS/C returned volunteers Lynn and Dermot for their advice and Des, Glenn, Megs and John Sinnot (ATEA). And a big thanks to Laurie and the Rotary team.

It’s been a big few weeks with donations for Suai/Covalima. We have completed three separate missions. We have packed up 200 primary school tables and chairs and delivered to the dock for shipment donated from Harrisfield and Springvale Rise Primary Schools.

Thanks

FoS/C is very grateful to the principals Meredith Iaconese and Annette Hilton and their staff for organising the donation and also to the great team of volunteers Glenn, Megs, Patsy, Carmel, Des and Stuart and Declan, CoPP handyman for their help at dismantling and packing.

English Language Class Sets

FoS/C benefited from a donation from the closure of the foreign language bookshop The Bookery through the Australia East Timor Association (ATEA). We were able to send 17 boxes of English Language class-sets for students and teachers in the Covalima district. The books will assist the Association of English Language Teachers in Covalima and their English students. Thanks to FoS/C returned volunteers Lynn and Dermot for their advice and Des, Glenn, Megs and John Sinnot (ATEA).

And a big thanks to Laurie and the Rotary team.

Keeping Connected to East Timor Seminar

In September 2010 FoS in collaboration with Elwood College hosted over 200 students from six schools at a student seminar at the St Kilda Town Hall to discuss the East Timor independence struggle and Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Guest speakers included Clinton Fernandes, UNSW and Pat Walsh from CAVR. Students discussed the difference between genuine friendship and charity and then worked on T-shirt designs to demonstrate how a genuine friendship might look.

School links

Links through schools have broadened. Elwood College has hosted conferences on East Timor with other local schools. Children from St Kilda Primary and Zumalai communicated through art, exchanging self-portraits in 2008.

Constitutional Convention

On 30 July 2003, secondary students from a range of educational institutions gathered at a convention organised by Elwood College, Melbourne Girls Grammar and friends of suai. Students participated in a day of discussions and workshops aimed at raising awareness of the situation in East Timor, Australia's participation there and encouraging the youth of today to feel empowered to have a say in the matter. Experts in the field who took great joy in imparting their knowledge to the next generation facilitated the event. As a result of this project, several schools have become active participants in friends of suai and have a particular interest in the primary school project.

Friendship schools

Friends of suai are encouraging the interest of schools in the City of Port Phillip and East Timor to create relationships. They are working on linking schools in the City of Port Phillip with the friendship schools project being run by the Alola foundation in Dili.

New Chairs

In 2007, Friends of Suai sponsored 18 Suai carpenters to make 300 chairs with writing tables for Suai Secondary School. Some students had been sitting on concrete to take classes. Further chairs have been donated to 3 other primary schools in Covalima.

New Library for Suai Public Secondary School

Friends of Suai raised money through selling books donated by the Port Phillip Library Service to build a library at the Suai Secondary School. The Rotary Club of Balwyn donated half the funds needed, while the Esden family in Sydney gave generous donations to build the library and to buy books and resources in Portuguese and Tetun, the two official languages, and also English and Bahasa Indonesian.

The new Hilfrande Library, named after the three priests killed in the 1999 Suai massacre – Hilario, Francisco and Dewanto – opened on July 4, 2009. Friends of Suai has sponsored librarian training for three teachers.

Scholarships

In 2007, Jewish Aid Australia donated on-going scholarships to ten orphaned children and one young man with a disability. The following year, five Friends of Suai senior scholarship holders finished their degrees at the University of East Timor in Dili.

Teaching the Teachers, English Language training

In September 2009, five retired teachers, including two Port Phillip residents, ran a five-week intensive program for 24 English-language teachers in Suai. The volunteer teachers paid their own airfares, medical and living costs with Port Phillip assisting with accommodation and transport as well as resourcing this highly successful program.
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