Education & Health
The Terrace Timor Network (TTN) supports and funds projects which focus on the key development challenges facing the people of Timor Leste. The delivery of these projects is managed by Comunidade Edmund Rice (CER), the ministry of the Christian Brothers in Timor Leste. The projects are concentrated in isolated rural communities in the mountains behind Dili.
Education
The education programme aims to provide qualified, reliable teaching staff and usable resources to encourage regular attendance at school and a higher priority on education. The program encourages participation, creativity and cross cultural exchange.
TTN Education milestones includes:
- Paying the salary of several East Timorese primary school and pre-school teachers employed by CER to teach in the schools in the area. These teachers are trained and qualified;
- Developing teaching resources for early language work in Tetan (the main local language); and
- Designing, supplying and marketing an Art Exchange Project between the Terrace Middle School and students from the CER village schools.
- TTN has now signed an MOU with ACU School of Education and the Oceania Provence to support final year education students from ACU who wish to spend time teaching in East Timor, providing in-service training for East Timorese teachers and developing resources for the CER schools.
Did you know....
Adult literacy rates in Timor Leste are very low and less than half primary-aged children complete 6years of education. TTN has raised funds to pay the salaries of teachers so that the children of the CER communities can build brighter futures for themselves and their families.
Health
Comprehensive health care services are seen as a ‘given’ within our Australian communities however the people in many villages of Timor Leste have almost no opportunity to access even the most basic care.
The health programme aims to improve the health outcomes for men, women and children through maternity and post-natal care, and management of other injuries and diseases. A large focus of the programme moving forward will be on building awareness and education of simple health care principles within the communities CER supports.
TTN Health milestones includes:
- Paying the salary of Timorese health workers employed by CER to provide medical assistance in local area clinics;
- Sourcing medical supplies and equipment used by the clinics; and
- Developing community health programmes to attack malnutrition and infant and maternal mortality.
Did you know....
Whilst Australian communities are fighting issues of childhood obesity, 70% of children in Timor Leste are malnourished. The work of TTN is aimed at supporting basic health care at a community level helping children and their families to live healthy and happy lives.
