In Timor Leste (East Timor), it’s not uncommon for students to walk several hours to school every day. But with weather and other family responsibilities, this is difficult to maintain and many students are forced to drop out of school.
Despite the Ainaro district having a population of 52,500, the capital of Ainaro was the only place where students could access a high school education.
So even with a high quality senior high school in the Ainaro district, many students were missing out due to the distance to neighbouring towns and limited transport options.
So for those not lucky enough to live in the Ainaro township, continuing your studies was difficult, as evident in the 6% Senior High School Graduation rate.(National Census 2004).
Affordable boarding schools provide an alternative for families in remote areas to allow their children to continue their studies.
There was a well established Girls Boarding College in Ainaro, but the Boys Boarding College was totally dilapidated and could only accommodate a handful of students.
In response to this – Timor Leste Vision (TLV), commenced our ‘Ainaro Project’ in 2007which was funded by a wide range of fundraising events and the generosity of Australians like you and me.
In just under 5 years, we worked with the Ainaro Parish to renovate and extend the St Louis Gonzaga Boarding College. The direct result of this partnership was an extra 75 students being able to access secondary education!
Guided by a business case which was developed in partnership with project manager Father Lito, the renovation project was conducted in four stages.
- First we replaced and repaired sections of the roof.
- Then we renovated the dorms and supplied more beds and lockers.
- A new kitchen was built to cater for the growing numbers of hungry teenage boys; and
- A brand new sparkling bathroom building was built to replace the original 4 working toilets and bathroom (which was not a pleasant place to be we assure you!).
In addition a large market garden was set up to provide the food for the college and community and a training program was established to teach the community about sustainable and effective farming techniques. This component of the Ainaro Project was funded by an Australian Ethical Investment Community Grant.
We also used local labour and materials were ever possible which also provided employment and training opportunities for the local community and supported the economy.
The Ainaro Project is by far our most successful and extensive project, and the St Louis Gonzaga Boarding College is now nationally renowned!
Without the support of the ‘Friends of TLV’ we could not continue, so we would like to thank all of our loyal supporters who contributed their time and funds to support our efforts!
