A long walk to school in East Timor

“Walking up the muddy slope to Uacala School I realised how motivated children from rural East Timor must be to even get to school in the morning. We visited the school after the rainy season had finished yet still had to abandon the car and walk the last 100 metres. The slope was very steep and with all the mud, extremely slippery. I arrived at the school with mud halfway up my legs, much to the amusement of all the children. I can’t imagine how difficult this road is at the height of the rainy season yet children will still walk up to three hours to get to school.

East Timor is a beautiful country, with golden beaches and lush green hills, however there is also evidence everywhere of its brutal history and its struggle for independence. Schools like Uacala, where grade four have to take lessons in the next door chapel because the school only has two classrooms, demonstrate the poverty in much of the country.  The classrooms are dark and sparse with little furniture and no learning materials and I can’t help but contrast this to the creative, bright, interactive environment I learnt in. Yet the motivation of the teachers and students is evident, many of the teachers I spoke to are volunteers and all are eager for the school to get the materials and equipment to make their lessons inspiring.

Children in Crisis is currently working to rebuild two schools like Uacala  and rehabilitate several more in the Baucau district of East Timor. Classrooms are being equipped with furniture such as tables and chairs, blackboards, cupboards, sports equipment and textbooks etc. In addition we are training teachers, many of whom have had little or no training in the past. By making these schools a better place to learn, Children in Crisis is enabling children access to quality education and therefore a better future."