Hope begins with YOU
Support the volunteer teachers impacting the lives of young Timorese children!
This Jubilee Year, let’s give our volunteer teachers cause to celebrate!
Volunteer teachers like Carmelinda are an invaluable resource and are at the heart of the transformation occurring across the nation in helping break the cycle of poverty overwhelming so many of Timor’s young people. In fact, Carmelinda’s story isn’t so different from the students she teaches…
Carmelinda’s Story
Carmelinda, grew up in Raimea. Her parents never went to school, but they understood how important it was for their children to have an education. With this in mind, Carmelinda’s parents sent her to St Francis Xavier Catholic School, Raimea, a Carmelite primary school supported by the Carmelites.
“My parents do not know how to read or write. Their lives are all about farming crops, like corn and rice. I am the first person in my immediate family to go to university. My parents supported me by selling their animals to pay for the university fees.”
Carmelinda returned to her village after earning her Bachelors, determined to create a positive learning environment and empower her students with knowledge that can open doors beyond Timor-Leste’s borders.
“I thought if I was able to do this degree, then when I finished, I could return to my village so I could share my experience and knowledge with the young students in Raimea.” She’s now teaching at the same primary school she attended as a child.
“When I’m teaching, my favourite thing is having a calm classroom with students who are really engaged with what I’m explaining. Often after I’ve explained something, I ask the students to explain it again but in their own words.
“It really is a great feeling to see that the students have understood.”
Challenges and hopes for the future
One of the hardest challenges faced by volunteer teachers like Carmelinda is limited access to vital educational resources that can help bring her lessons to life…
“One of the difficulties I have is teaching resources. For example, we have some Portuguese grammar text books that the government has distributed to all schools and I also have my own grammar text books, but we don’t have a class set so I can’t hand them out to the students.”
“Instead I have to write things up on the blackboard and they copy it down in their notebooks. We also don’t have class sets of dictionaries for the students to look up new words.”
This is where you come in…
Equip a volunteer teacher with the means to empower an entire classroom
Your tax deductible donation can provide an income to teachers like Carmelinda, while also providing resources to students. All the while, helping Community Scholarship students continue their tertiary education.
Your precious gift can help our volunteer teachers, be able to do what they love – to educate young minds and create transformative moments in the classroom.
Please show your support. Give hope for a brighter future by donating now.
