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School Support and Access Project in East Timor (Timor Leste)

The Alola Foundation is dedicated to the well-being of women and children in East Timor.

The people at the Alola Foundation are very excited with the launch of a new Education Project in East Timor

Currently they have three School Support Officers working within Friendship Schools in a range of districts, working very closely with the Ministry of Education at a District and Central level. These activities are in line with the newly developed National Curriculum for Primary Schools in East Timor.

Friendship Schools

There are currently 84 Friendship Schools in 11 of the 13 districts of East Timor. Each school is partnered with a school in Australia, Hong Kong and other countries. In each of these schools the Alola Foundation is providing resources, conducting activities and establishing a friendship with children around the world.

Literacy and Resource Project

The Literacy and Resource Project is working to produce and distribute resources to improve literacy. The project will publish new tetum story books, develop an English curriculum and distribute books that promote literacy amongst students in the Friendship Schools.  This project is designed to help improve East Timor’s poor literacy standards.  

The Alola Foundation is producing toys that promote educational development for students at Pre-Primary and Primary level Friendship Schools. The Alola Foundation believes that early intervention and the development of literacy skills is very important.

The Literacy and Resource Project works with the Government of East Timor to improve the quality and creativity of teaching methods in schools through teacher training workshops.

The Literacy and Resource Project conducts regular Teacher Development Workshops to increase understanding of the project and to increase teacher involvement. The workshops are being conducted in six districts and include a focus on the promotion of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Primary School Support Project

The Primary School Support Project a pilot project in Atauru, (an island and sub-district off the coast of Dili). The objective of this project is to reconstruct and rebuild six Pre-Primary Schools. The project is in partnership with Roman Luan a local NGO. In addition the Alola Foundation is conducting teacher training for all pre-primary teachers on the island and providing resources and school material to be used.

Scholarships

The Alola Foundation currently has 1000 students receiving Scholarships to support and encourage their continual education at all levels: Primary, Pre-Secondary, Secondary and Tertiary in more than 113 schools in 13 districts in East Timor. This scholarship enables the students to pay for school fees and buy uniforms, text books and other basic school needs.

In addition the Alola Foundation is providing Life Skills training to the scholarship recipients in six of the districts of East Timor.Many Rotarians are supporting the Scholarships program by making a regular donation.

The Scholarships are:

• Primary Education is US$70 per annum;

• Secondary Education: US$85 per annum;

• Tertiary Education: US$225 per annum.

Rotary eClub One has an ongoing commitment to the support of the Alola Foundation. Our members have contributed Scholarship donations and we also provide funding for women’s and children’s health programs conducted by the Alola Foundation.

The Rotary Club of Dili is the only Rotary club in East Timor. It has a twin club relationship with Rotary eClub One