As indicated in our vision and mission statements, we and the people of Atabae are building a long lasting relationship. We are working with the community to establish self sustaining development in this currently quite poor area. We are determined to prevent the relationship creating a long term dependency on external assistance but recognise that self sufficiency may take many years and more resources than we have to offer.
On this page
Overview
FPET has identified its program areas, which cover all past, present and currently envisaged projects as:
- Education: This has been consistently mentioned as a priority area and initially included primary school buildings and equipment, teachers (training & salaries), school fees, English classes, secondary school access (including boarding facilities), technical training facilities and trainers, university student fees.
- Health: This includes clinics, medical supplies and staff training. More detail on this continuing high priority is provided below on this page.
- Water supply: This has been a high priority need that appears beyond our own resources but we have provided some assistance including rainwater tanks. Alternative providers are still being sought for the remainder of the problems identified in the FPET sponsored investigation and report by volunteer engineer, Graham Gloag.
- Community Development: This included plans for supply of hand tractors, other agricultural equipment and sewing machines. Fishing boat motors, livestock, sewing machines and funding for micro-credit has been supplied. While some of these items (excluding hand tractors) were provided we are now funding less of this equipment with more emphasis on skills training to ensure sustainable development.
- Community: This included a proposed community centre/library building and equipment but the priority for this building has declined with the establishment of the health centre building. Vehicles for basic transport needs and some expenditure for community social activities have been provided. An early expensive was a 4WD vehicle which FPET provided to the Parish Priest for basic community transport needs.
- Relief: Funding was supplied for food and essential items during earlier emergencies and continued for a while on a limited basis for the disadvantaged (eg widows, orphans, amputees).
- Youth: Sporting and musical equipment has been purchased. FPET supports various social and developmental activities organised by the Comoning Youth Association. This youth initiated group is very community minded and works hard to improve the community. The group seems to have greatly contributed to the calm in Atabae during times of unrest elsewhere in East Timor.
- Church: Funds were supplied to buy building materials, furnishings, supplies and other church related items but much less recently.
- Travel: This includes the cost of some visits made to East Timor on behalf of FPET and visits from Atabae to Brisbane but most visits to East Timor are wholly or largely privately funded. Visits in both directions are seen as vital to growing the relationship.
Initially there was a need for emergency relief which was met with both goods and funding. Large quantities of clothing and some basic household equipment were provided from Australia. Subsequently, we have delivered aid mainly through funding so that goods can be purchased in East Timor if possible. We also devoted much of our funds to helping with the restoration and rebuilding of critically needed buildings including schools and chapels which are also used as community halls.
Soon after we rebuilt some schools we undertook to pay teacher salaries for these schools. This was always with the expectation that either the local church or government would take over this responsibility. Eventually this became quite an expense as the number of teachers increased over time. It was only due to the modest wages prevailing in East Timor that we could afford the expense but fortunately the government has accepted this responsibility and we are no longer paying teacher salaries.
We once thought that the community health centre may be our last investment in community buildings as we expected that the basic needs could be funded from other sources including the East Timor government. However,we have since made limited contributions to assist with desperately needed expansion of the Atabae parish primary school. We have also contributed to the construction of a village chapel at Liminaro.
We see it as more important to focus on sustainable community development though the building up of skills within the community.
Our main activities now can be summarised as supporting PALMS volunteers who focus on the continuing district priorities as discerned with the Atabae community organisation, Friends and Partners with Australia (FPA). This currently includes:
- Managing the integration of the Community Health programme, including the trainee volunteers, into the government health services.
- Working with the community to enable further community development and developing project management capacity within the community
- Meeting identified unmet gaps in education such as English language and computer skills
- Supporting youth by funding relevant student scholarships and encouraging the activities of the local Comoning Youth Association.
- Continuing to support our relationship with the Atabae community while being open to the possibility of addressing other needs within East Timor, especially in the western border area.
The Timor-Leste Strategic Development plan 2011-2030 reports that,
Chronic malnutrition among children in Timor-Leste is still very high, although the situation is improving. One third of children under the age of five years and one third of all women suffer from anaemia.
Infant mortality and child health problems continue to be major health issues although some improvement is being achieved. Infant mortality per 1000 live births is reported to have decreased from 88 in 2001 to 49 in 2004 but rose again to 61 in 2005. The latest UN figure we have noted is 55. The statistics do not seem very reliable but maternal and infant health are obviously still big problems.
Margaret Hall was able to initiate a number of much needed proactive community health programs, especially for mothers, infants and the primary school children. Margaret coordinated with other health professionals to train locals who volunteered to participate in the community health work.
The opening of the Community Health Centre building in Atabae in August 2008 was another major milestone for improved health care services in the area. It led to even more involvement of others from Bairo Pite Clinic and elsewhere for the provision of additional health services.
FPET members were extremely grateful for the grant from GRM International to help finance the expanding health program for a year from late 2008. This additional money (US$30,000) came at a critical time to facilitate the expansion of the program across the subdistrict and into some other areas.
Health services provided include:
- preventive programs covering ante-natal, infant health, hearing, school visits and assessment of students health, general health issues affecting women, men and the elderly;
- therapy programs for special needs babies and infants;
- blood testing eg for tuberculosis and malaria;
- therapy for fine and gross motor problems;
- education on public health issues such as water supply quality and sanitation; and
- home visiting to complement the above services.
The initial thrust of the program was to train local people to lead and conduct these services so they are sustainable into the future with much less external support. The early trainees have progressed extremely well and are now very competent team members and leaders.
The main objective now is to work towards the integration of these proactive health services into the government health care system. In this way the general health of the community an be improved and money saved by the reduced need for curative health services.
Many Atabae health problems are associated with the often limited and poor quality water supplies. David Hall worked with the community to seek solutions to the water supply problems and introduced rainwater tanks at selected sites. David and Jose also looked at sanitation problems, especially at Damlaran, but more work on this issue id probably warranted.
Given the majority of the population are teenagers or younger, it is obvious that these younger people are a major part of the future potential of the country. As increasing numbers leave school with limited employment prospects every effort has to be made to educate them well for becoming effective contributors to the economy and assist them in making that contribution. Many of the recent difficulties have arisen through the lack of prospects for the younger generations now looking for a fulfilling life.
Education is generally accepted as essential to achieving effective economic development within the country. While FPET has previously done a great deal to assist with provision of schooling in Atabae subdistrict, the major responsibilities for schooling are now being taken over by the government. FPET continues to offer scholarships to encourage youth to undertake training for the occupations required to help the development of the local area.
The senior local people have always placed a high priority on education and opportunity for the children and young adults so they might have a better life than they themselves have experienced. At their prompting, FPET has often provided small amounts of funds for sporting equipment, musical instruments and other expenditure to allow the youth to have a better life.
The emerging leadership skills of some youth are evident in the Comoning Youth Association which has been established at Atabae by the youth through their own efforts with a little support from others. This group has proved to be a great asset for the community in giving a sense of purpose to the youth and generally assisting in the development of the community. FPET is very pleased to be providing small amounts of funding to support their good work which has helped maintain a peaceful community while tensions were evident elsewhere in East Timor.
Community development
The Atabae community was mainly sustained by an almost cashless subsistence agriculture in the first years after Indonesian occupation but now is developing a growing cash economy. This trend is essential for the sustainable development of the community so young people can gain local employment.
Following the philosophy of PALMS Australia, FPET has tried to focus on actions aimed at sustainable community development to avoid creating a relationship of dependency. This has required a consultative approach from the very beginning where we worked with the priorities of the local community. Initially this was done through the Atabae Parish Council. While the Parish Council is still consulted, an effort was made through David and Margaret Hall to establish a specific Community Consultative Committee to help guide FPET activities.
The establishment in late 2011 and early 2012 of the Atabae coomunity committee, Friends and Partners with Australia (FPA), marks a major milestone in the progress of our partnership with the Atabae community. This committee seems has taken on the role we were hoping to service through the earlier consultative committee that did not gain local commitment though our failure to effectively communicate its purpose to the community.
While FPET maintains its continuing interest in the economic and social development of the Atabae subdistrict, it has limited capacity to achieve this from its own resources. We mainly look for opportunities to collaborate with or otherwise encourage others to do these things. We are now expecting FPA to work with us to attract this other support for the benefit of the Atabae community.
We once had a small involvement in providing microcredit but did not continue with it as there are adequate microcredit services available. We also supplied a few livestock once but this was then dropped as a local priority. We have been trying to develop a small plantation of trees and intercropping as a pilot program but this has proved to be difficult for us despite the obvious potential for such ventures. Some new small businesses are being established. We expect some more will be started and staffed by young people trained in relevant trades through our scholarships.
With the help of FPA we look forward to broadening our joint commitment to other community development projects through collaboration with other local East Timorese organisations who can provide additional specialist expertise to build local skills and management capacity.
You can e-mail Friends and Partners with East Timor at
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