In response to the request of the school director of EBC 09 de Setembro Public school in Tumin, Bobometo, Oesilo, RAEOA, the youth-based and non-profit organization, Timor Leste Youth for Peace, sent a team of students to survey and document the quality of access to education of the students within the district.

The findings were as follows:

The data show that the students are composed of 236 males and 231 females as of October 2024. In May of 2024, the school formed a team composed of 1 teacher and 10 students, with the help of TLYFP. The team surveyed every student to identify and verify the main issues that the students face in accessing education. The issues that students experienced is what motivated the school director to send a letter to request assistance from Timor-Leste Youth for Peace (TLYFP).

Based on the field survey, there are several findings that emphasize the difficulty faced by the students:

1. The majority of students live 2 km from the school.Due to the distance, their school uniform and shoes are being worn-out.

2. Difficulty accessing water forced many students to have to help their parents gather water , sometimes making them late to school.

3. One (1) of the students lived 7 Km from the school, everyday enduring mountainous harsh terrain from home to be able to come to school everyday.

4. One (1) of the students lived 3km behind a mountain, everyday passing through slopes and dangers of wild animals.

5. Several students paused their pursuit of education to help their parents. Some (mostly female) stayed at home taking on household responsibilities, such as having to take care of their younger siblings or work to support their families.

6. Cases of students unable to continue high school due to financial situations. Young boys and girls are forced to work, and sometimes young girls are forced to enter early marriage to lighten up this burden.

After witnessing the difficulties faced by the students, the team came back to Dili to prepare to respond to the urgent need for assistance. TLYFP came up with solutions to tackle the issues, including but not limited too:

1. Advocate for increased funding to rural schools to provide resources and qualified teachers.

2. Provide school supplies to students in need.

3. Expand access to extracurricular activities, such as sports, arts, and clubs.

4. Establish a mentorship program to connect students with positive role models.

5. Provide career counseling and guidance to students.

6. Raise social awareness that promotes gender equality.

7. Empower girls by giving them opportunities to grow.

The tentative agenda is for a team of TLYFP volunteers to revisit the school in Oecusse from 19-23 May to provide the requested assistance. TLYFP would especially like to provide this assistance during the time as there is no better way to celebrate the restoration of independence Timor Leste (now 23 years old), than to give back to students in need.

More about Timor-Leste Youth For Peace:

TLYFP (Timor-Leste Youth for Peace) is a non-profit organization and was founded on June 2009. TLYFP is a youth-led organization founded by 40 Timorese students consists of high schoolers and few university students who attended Initiative for Peace (IfP) Conference (2009) organized by UWCSEA (United World College South of East Asia) students and teachers. IfP is a conference that empowers youth capabilities in managing conflicts and upscaling leadership potentials. This conference has also inspired the participants to strengthen peace among their communities in Timor-Leste. Realizing that IfP needs an infinite continuity due to benefits that it offered, the 2009 IfP participants decided to found TLYFP to ensure a consistent and sustainable flow of what is learned from IfP to the community and other youth who did not have the opportunity of attending IfP.

TLYFP has done a lot of community service. Since it was founded, TLYFP has done socializations on Peace building aspects to mobilize the community post-2006 political unrest. We have done a lot of fundraising to serve underprivileged orphans and community members. Realizing sport as a bridge of connecting youth in Timor-Leste, TLYFP has held the Peace Cup, yearly to commemorate International Peace Day (September 21, 2020). As an organization who intends to empower youth leadership potentials, TLYFP also engages youth in active debates and speeches (public speaking). TLYFP also cares about the environment, thus, the organization frequently conducts series of environmental clean ups, reforestation and afforestation efforts, and organizes series of awareness raising and education outreach to inform the community about the current environmental challenges in Timor-Leste. All of these activities were done voluntarily with many financial challenges.

Additional Information:

Dreams for Future to Help Children in Oecusse TL

Instagram for TLYFP

All raised funds will go towards the school in Oecusse, Timor-Leste. The fundraiser is based in the United States to be able to access funding via GoFundMe.