Salesians are on hand to help

Sydney
2 June 2002

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Salesians are on hand to help

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Salesians are on hand to help

salejpg Sr Paolo tends to a patient at the Venilale clinic

By Michael Lynch

East Timor officially became the world’s newest nation last month. It is, however, the poorest country in Asia.

While the offshore oil revenues will help East Timor along the path of financial independence, these funds are still a couple of years away.

More than 75 per cent of the population are subsistence farmers making a meagre living off the land. Rice is the staple crop. However, much of the farming land is hilly and the soil is not extra fertile.

The East Timorese Salesians, working in schools and parishes in seven centres, are helping young people and families become more self-reliant and self-motivated in the rebuilding of the country.

The Don Bosco Agricultural School at Fuiloro is establishing a dairy herd and a fully operational dairy. Former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer is patron of the project, the aim of which is to provide fresh milk for children in the Fuiloro-Lautem district.

This project is in partnership with the Kiwanis Clubs of Australia and New Zealand.

Don Bosco Agricultural School is the only agricultural training facility in East Timor. It has 135 students in senior high school agricultural courses and a further 1000 youngsters in the junior high and elementary schools.

“The value of this program in money terms,” says project co-ordinator Kevin Wood, “is likely to exceed $500,000 and is in keeping with the Kiwanis motto of Serving the Children of the World.”

A herd of 32 cattle - reared for the Kiwanis Club of Brighton, Victoria, at the Geelong Christian College and on several farms in northern Victoria - was shipped to East Timor during April. Milking will begin next month. A second group of heifers is due there next year.

Br Raimundo, the farm manager, returned to Fuiloro last month after two months of training at the Geelong Christian College and at the Tropical Dairy Institute in Queensland.

The project has been financed by the Kiwanis and the Financial Planning Association supported by Australian Volunteers International and AusAID.

The Don Bosco Technical School, Fatumaca, and Don Bosco Training Centre, Comoro, continue to play an important role in technical and vocational education in East Timor and in providing initial training for skilled tradesmen in building and motor vehicle repairs.

The Technical School is a regular school with 270 students aged 16-23 enrolled in a three-year program specialising in carpentry and cabinet making; metalwork, basic engineering and machine tools; electricity and electronics. The headmaster, Br Marcal, says a high proportion of the students secure employment; others continue their studies at the university in Dili.

The Training Centre provides a less structured environment than at Fatumaca, providing one-year courses in carpentry and cabinet making, welding and electricity for students aged 17-35. Its students include a number of former Falintil freedom fighters.

“Many of those who are with us have had few opportunities for schooling in the past,” says co-ordinator Br Adriano.

The Salesian Sisters at Venilale operate an orphanage catering for more than 100 girls, plus the St Mary Mazzarello Girls’ High School and the Venilale Medical Centre.

The high school has more than 100 boarders. As well as the usual academic subjects, the girls learn Portuguese, Indonesian and English and can specialise in dressmaking and sewing skills, food preparation and cooking.

The medical clinic is run by Salesian Srs Alma and Paola, both of whom are doctors. It serves the people of Venilale and neighbouring villages. Malaria is still commonplace, as are dengue fever, polio, TB and malnutrition.