Report on a Visit to Timor-Leste

Each of the potential sites for the permaculture garden had their advantages and disadvantages in terms of development and operation including:

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  suitability for cultivation and access to water supply
  
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  proximity to schools, and ease of access by educators, famers groups, the local community, passing visitors and potential partners such as Uma Ita Nian Clinic, ARTC, Aileu Rotaract, Aileu University Students Association other NGOs operating in Aileu and the Ministry of Agriculture
  
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  potential for integration into ASTI’s campus development plans
  
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  government, church, private and traditional community land tenure issues.
  

The discussions with representatives of ASTI and Rai Husar Foundation, which are registered not for profit organisations, highlighted both organisations’:

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  progressive educational and community service vision
  
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  strong backing by a range of suitably qualified and influential people
  
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  desire to work collaboratively, including with other educators and local organisations such as the ARTC, Uma Ita Nian Clinic, Aileu Rotaract and Aileu University Students Association
  
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  current challenges including:
  

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  key patrons, directors and staff also being heavily committed to other roles, including work away from Aileu and the ASTI campus
  
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  difficulty maintaining an focus on agreed, clear and achievable implementation strategies and priorities
  
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  a delays in completing ASTI’s accreditation as a tertiary institution
  
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  under performance in serving the needs of its current students
  

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  commitment to addressing these current challenges.
  

It was agreed that:

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  Friends of Aileu and CERES Global would continue to engage with ASTI to strengthen working relationships with a view to developing more concrete partnership activities once suitable conditions had been achieved
  
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  ASTI would keep Friends of Aileu informed of developments regarding the Institute and the Rai Husar Foundation.
  

One of the aims of the visit was to attend as an observer the formation conference of the Aileu Intellectuals Association proposed to be held on 18-19 June. Abilio de Araujo and colleagues, who are key proponents of the conference, advised that the conference had been postponed due to a clash with other significant community activities around that time and lack of funds for the necessary travel and accommodation for participants including four representatives from each of Aileu’s 31 Sucos (villages).

As part of the decentralisation processes, each of Timor-Leste’s 12 municipalities is setting up its Local (Municipal) Advisory Council (refer to Attachment 3, p3), which is to include two representatives of intellectual/cultural organisations, along with a range of other community representatives. The formation of organisations such as the proposed Aileu Intellectual Associations is seen by many as a way to provide this representation.

To date there has been no financial support from government for such a conference. Proponents have been seeking funding from other sources including through Plan Timor-Leste and the Aileu Relationship Commission. Plan Timor-Leste’s Aileu District Manager and the ARC’s Mario Soares both advised that they were not prepared to endorse the funding proposal as presented to date.

Abilio de Araujo advised that he would follow up on the funding proposals and seek to build the necessary relationships and business case to support formation of the proposed Intellectuals Association.

13 Waste Management - Aileu Rotaract and Aileu University Students Association

During the visit it was not possible to find a time to meet formally with representatives of Aileu Rotaract or KEUDA due to their study and other commitments in Dili.

The Project Officer did, however, meet with Camilo da Costa, Aileu Vila CDO, and discussed the value of the Aileu Vila Administration Post (formerly titled Subdistrict):

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  liaising further with Aileu Rotaract on of their work constructing waste collection facilities at schools and providing complementary community education
  
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  utilising the ‘Aileu Rai Furak’ school reader sponsored by Friends of Aileu to support these activities.
  

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  the Water and Sanitation Department employing 10 people working full time to collect garbage from bins located around Aileu town, with a truck making regular trips to the municipal incineration site out of the town
  
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  private initiatives such as collection of aluminium cans for recycling in Dili, using a custom built cage on a motorbike.
  

The Project Officer met with Emelita da Cruz, Plan Timor-Leste’s Aileu District Manager on:

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  12 June
  
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  19 June with Olivia Laskowski (ATA) and Simao Barreto (CNEFP).
  

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  involves Aldeia (subvillage) communities in 27 of Aileu’s 31 Sucos
  
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  was funded about 60/40 donors/child sponsorship, with major donors including the European Commission and in Plan Australia and Sweden, while major sources of child sponsorship came from Norway and Germany
  
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  concentrates on Water and Sanitation, Child Protection, Inclusive Education and Women’s Participation
  
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  helped local women’s groups establish Women’s Action for Aileu Development (FADA) to provide representation in the Aileu Municipal Advisory Council, in line with its work supporting local Community-based organisations develop into more capable formal NGOs.
  

The Project Officer met with Rogerio da Conceicao, Director Aileu Health centre on 16 June who requested assistance with repairing the solar lighting system to provide a backup light for deliveries in the maternity clinic.

Sr Rogerio also advised that:

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  dental staff do participate in the scheduled visits of health staff to village Health Posts and schools
  
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  there was no further news on the placement of the first round of dental technician graduates from UNDIL.
  

During the time in Aileu the Project Officer met with youth leaders including Henrique Rodrigues and Jose Valente, and heard about their work and that of other including scholarship recipient Victor Nascimento, who have over recent years undertaken tertiary study and obtained employment as teachers. They and other young people including in FOSCA, KEUDA and Aileu Rotaract continue to find time for voluntary activities with the younger generation of youth.

On 19 June the Project Officer met recently arrived Aileu Parish Priest, Padre Henrique, for the first time and provided a briefing on Friends of Aileu. Padre Henrique indicated his interest in the work of the Aileu Relationship Commission and in following up issue of church representation on Commission.

14.4 Physical Infrastructure in Aileu

Major changes or improvements observed since 2012:

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  all but the more remote sucos and aldeias appeared to have access to the electricity grid
  
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  water supply reliability in the Aileu town area was much improved
  
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  many new public buildings had been completed ,although some were yet to be occupied
  
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  construction of new government supported community tourism accommodation beside the lake in Seloi Craik was well advanced
  
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  a few significant private commercial building were being constructed
  
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  while most people’s dwellings were still basic, there was more evidence on new houses, house improvements and new kiosks being constructed
  
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  some new service businesses such as computer access, photography and printing, and the arrival of a BNU Branch Bank with an ATM (accepting VISA but not Mastercard), located in the Aileu Timor Telecom office
  
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  more widespread use of simple green houses for plant propagation and vegetable production
  
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  major reconstruction of the road between Aileu and Ainaro had commenced, with a Japanese Company having set up a compound and residential facilities for project management on land behind the Aileu Municipal Administration, and with the Chinese construction company having set up a large compound and gravel extraction facility by the river just south of Aileu town.
  

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  the poor condition of streets and footpaths
  
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  little change in the poor physical condition and limited service offering of many locally owned small business premises (restaurants, shops)
  

On 5 June the Project Officer met with Padre David at his residence at the Motael Parish Church. Since his transfer from Remexio, David has continued to liaise with members of the Kangaroo Valley Remexio Partnership (KVRP), and provides accommodation for eight students from Remexio and Same studying at university in Dili and supports three others from Remexio studying in Baucau, two at the Baucau Teachers College and one at the Canossa Technical College. KVRP members support these students in addition to their contribution to the Secondary and University Scholarship Programs managed through the Aileu Relationship Commission.

David has been unwell again in recent times and hopes to travel to Australia with support from KVRP members for further medical consultations and treatment later this year.

15.2 Cathy Molnar, Australian Volunteers International Country Manager

On 5 June the Project Officer met with Cathy Molnar to discuss the AVID program and potential for Friends of Aileu to support an AVID placement in the future.

While the AVID program had been affected by Australian Government budget cuts to DFAT, there was still scope for a few well targeted placements during 2016 and potentially beyond.

It is considered desirable to await further progress with Aileu Municipality’s decentralisation transition, including the appointment of a new Municipal Manager, and further progress with setting up a framework for implementing assistance under the Municipal Cooperation arrangements, before assessing the need and specific role for an AVID placement there.

Similarly, while Uma Ita Nian Clinic may be able to benefit from an AVID placement to support the new local management, it is considered desirable to hold back while Sister Susan Gubbins is actively managing the transfer of responsibility to local managers.

15.3 Other Meetings

During the time in Dili, meetings were held with a number of other contacts as outlined in Attachment 1: Program of Project Officer’s Visit, including with:

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  Gaspar Freitas, Coordinator Xanana Reading Room, and staff at the UNESCO museum
  
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  Glenda Lasslett, Country Manager of OXFAM
  
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  Andrew Maher, Founder One Planet
  
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  Joao da Cost Freitas, Administration Manager FONGTIL
  
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  Dinorah Granadeiro, Executive Director Rede Feto
  

These and other meetings helped with maintaining useful contacts and providing insights into the current operating environment for civil society groups in Timor-Leste, which continues to develop positively.

Some observations from travelling around, and to and from, Dili are:

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  there is continued development of new buildings, largely offices for government, larger commercial premises and hotels
  
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  the change in smaller business premises and private dwellings in much less marked
  
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  many urban roads have been surfaced and some fully reconstructed
  
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  There has been significant streetscape and park improvements and plantings, including along the Dili foreshore and some major road medians
  
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  In Dili and along major regional roads many large shade trees are being removed for road widening, electricity network upgrades and extensions and for building projects
  
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  major progress has been made reconstructing highways to Gleno (Ermera) and Liquisa
  
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  significant work is in progress on reconstructing the highway to Aileu, and roads that provide partial alternative routes, re-joining the highway at Dare, Solerema, Sarlarla and via Seloi Craik, but these are less advanced than the Gleno and Liquisa routes.
  

The visit provided opportunities to:

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  meet with many of Friends of Aileu’s partners including in the Timor-Leste Government, Municipal Administration, civil society groups and with some members of the broader community, maintaining and developing the personal connections that are invaluable for facilitating, and indeed central aspects of, the friendship relationship
  
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  discuss many of the current activities undertaken by partner organisations, especially those supported by Friends of Aileu, and undertake site inspections, which together provided updates and insights that will assist with further liaison, input to project development and overall strategy planning.
  

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  to observe and engage with a number of the significant activities and changes that are currently taking place, such as:
  

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  the updating of the Friends of Aileu Strategy Plan to be undertaken this year to guide the coming period of the friendship relationship, and the associated consideration of governance arrangements and renewal the Friendship Agreement and the MOUs with partner organisations
  
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  the development of the Municipal Cooperation Agreement, the activities under which will be managed in the context of the existing Friendship Agreement
  
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  rapid developments in delivery of government services and infrastructure improvements, e.g. public buildings, roads, electricity supply
  
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  the real progress with administrative decentralisation within the Aileu Municipal Administration, and the preparation for political decentralisation
  
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  the current moves of two significant partner organisations, the Aileu Resource and Training Centre and the Uma Ita Nian Parish Clinic, towards local management and a more independently sustainable future
  
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  the challenges being experienced by a new partner, the Aileu Science and Technology Institute
  

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  to be able to have joint meetings and share observations with:
  

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  CERES Global’s first full study tour group, particularly with regard to possible future engagement with the Aileu Science and Technology Institute
  
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  the Alternative Technology Association’s Manager International Programs, allowing for joint meetings including with Besilau community representatives to assess the situation with the ATA’s pilot village lighting scheme.