My name is Angelo A. Menezes Guterres Aparicio (Alau). I grew up in the village of Baguia, Baucau, in Timor-Leste and have been fortunate that with the support of family and friends my life journey saw me earn a degree in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Hawaii, and Masters in Clinical Forensic Psychology from Montclair State University in New Jersey, USA.

Since returning to Timor-Leste in 2019, I have been doing volunteer work in the area of mental health with communities and youth groups, exploring issues such as identity, mental health, patriarchy, and violence prevention. My blog, which is part of this work, is here: https://alaukaywai.wordpress.com/

I have been blessed to find a job which allows me to bring conversations about mental health into the justice system, especially in providing services to Gender Based Violence survivors. My job has also given me opportunity to work directly with Police institution and Prison system in the country, especially with prison guards and inmates. In this country, there is unfortunately a limited understanding of what mental health entails and how important it is for the country’s development.

I am all for mental well-being… to me, mental health is as important as physical health. I genuinely believe many of the inmates are good people who have made wrong choice in their lives. It is important to let them feel heard, valued, seen and to also help them realize that they are great people who, for once, have made a wrong decision.

Gleno prison is one of three prisons in Timor-Leste and currently has 106 inmates – 15 of them are women. Through my work at Gleno prison, I realize there is more I can do to promote better mental and physical health for prisoners through volunteer activities which I want to organize.

These include:

• Improved literacy for building self-esteem and improved rehabilitation: Access to books is very limited. I would like to provide books in local languages, and fund English lessons for inmates. Lessons will be at least once a week, 2 hours duration, and will be set up for a 3-month trial. Fundraising target $770.

 

• Yoga Lesson: I’m planning to hire two yoga teachers to provide yoga session with inmates there at least once a week, 1.5 hour each meeting. I want to make this a long-term plan – but for now I just need to set it up at least for the first three months. Fundraising target $630 (+ $450 to buy yoga mats for the participants).

 

• Clean drinking water: Unlike in U.S. or Australia, tap water here is not clean. Installing water filters to a tank at the prison where inmates can access to clean drink water will help to improve their health and overall wellbeing. Fundraising target $1400

 

• TVs for news, entertainment and education: Connection to the outside world is important for rehabilitation and reintegration. TVs are normally provided, however in 2 of the cell blocks the TVs are broken, and no budget is available to replace them. Fundraising target $850

 

• Farming: Farming activity can ease someone’s mind and give them sense of purpose. A colleague of mine who has a strong background in horticulture would like to introduce ‘modern’ vegetable farming to inmates who are interested to grow vegetables. Due to limited space at Gleno prison we are planning to buy small size buckets for each of the inmates who are interested to participate in this activity. Fundraising target $ 300

These are my short term plans with (and for) the inmates. I also have got some long-term plans but that requires a much bigger budget so I will need to pitch this idea into a proposal and submit it to some organizations here in Dili.

Every penny you are donating will be go directly to these activities and the inmates. It will for sure put extra smiles on their face. Hopefully these activities will also inspire them to be better humans when returning to their families and communities after serving their time in prison.

#MentalHealthMatters #TogetherWeCan