Highlights

Justice-Sector Textbooks, Legal Manuals Reach New Audiences

Law students at UNTL receive the first law textbooks in Tetum.

USAID’s long-running Access to Justice and Legislative Development Program closed at the end of September, and since then, USAID's partner, The Asia Foundation, has been distributing extra copies of the information materials it created to academic, justice and government institutions, legal aid organizations, the lawyers association, political parties, the election bodies, donors, and international and local NGOs. Among the documents are more than 5,000 copies of the country's first law textbooks in Tetun, the most widely spoken language.

Coastal Communities Take Charge of Ecosystem Conservation

Local fishermen create coastal zone community management plans

USAID's Coral Triangle Support Partnership implementer, Conservation International, has established Timor-Leste's first-ever co-management groups. The groups link community members and local government authorities to improve the management of marine and coastal environments in the Nino Konis Santana National Park.

New Education Project Helps Keep Children in School

The School Dropout Prevention Pilot Project helps keep children in school.

Chargé d'Affaires Scott Ticknor and USAID Mission Director Rick Scott joined Vice Minister of Primary Education Dulce de Jesus Soares at the launch of USAID's school dropout prevention pilot program at Fatumassi Primary School in Bazartete, Liquica, on Oct 23. The program works in almost 200 schools in five districts to test methods to reduce the student dropout rate in grades 4, 5 and 6.

USAID Health Team Leader Documents Timor-Leste's Health Care Transition

A health worker examines a baby at a SISCa community health clinic.

A research paper by USAID's health team leader Tanya Wells Brown on Timor-Leste's health care service transition since 2002 was presented at an international conference in the Netherlands in mid-October. The Medicus Mundi Conference focused on health systems strengthening and conflict transformation in fragile states. Ms. Wells Brown's research described the Timor-Leste’s experience as an example of a new country emerging from conflict that opted to build a new health system, rather than continue health programming through an inherited system.

President TMR Visits USAID Cooperative Agribusiness Project in Suai and Maubisse

President Taur Matan Ruak visited two USAID cooperative agribusiness project sites in his tour of western Timor-Leste at the beginning of October. In Suai, USAID's partner, the National Cooperative Business Association, helps Cooperativa Cafe Timor (CCT) work with local communities to expand their range of crops and livestock, including cassava and cacao production and cattle fattening.

New Literacy Project Aims to Boost Reading Skills for Primary School Students

first-ever authentically Timorese series of basic early literacy booklets for us

The Asia Foundation will produce Timor-Leste's first-ever basic literacy booklets for use by primary school teachers and children in their mother tongues. The pilot project is part of the All Children Reading initiative, a Grand Challenge for Development sponsored by USAID, World Vision and AusAID. The project will work with the Ministry of Education to boost literacy and numeracy among pre-primary and primary students in Oecusse, Manatuto and Lautem districts by developing textbooks and teaching aids in the local languages.

NZ Foreign Minister Applauds Development Partnership with USAID

CCT buys coffee cherries from farmers every day during the harvest.

During his recent trip to Timor-Leste, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully and his delegation made the same visit to the Cooperativa Café Timor (CCT) dry coffee processing factory in Akadiruhun, Dili, as Secretary Clinton did on September 6. The factory is the final stop for CCT's organic coffee beans before they are shipped to buyers (Starbucks is a major buyer) as Timor-Leste's largest non-petroleum export product. CCT was established with USAID support and is the largest cooperative in Timor-Leste.

Secretary Clinton Announces New USAID Higher Education Program

After her meetings in Dili with President Taur Matan Ruak and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao on September 6, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced USAID's new Development Scholarship and Higher Education Program. The 5-year, $6.5 million initiative will provide multidisciplinary, international scholarships ranging from short-term technical training to undergraduate and post-graduate degrees.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Visits USAID Partner Cooperativa Cafe Timor

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (center) at Cooperativa Cafe Timor

During her visit to CCT's dry coffee processing factory, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton autographed a coffee export bag. Pictured above (right to left) are USAID Mission Director Rick Scott, CCT Chairman Germinino Dos Reis, the Secretary, and NCBA Chief of Party Sam Filiacci. Secretary Clinton is the first Secretary of State to visit Timor-Leste. She toured the coffee processing factory run by CCT, meeting staff and tasting a cup of Timor-Leste coffee.

Proactive Community Policing Set for Fifteen Communities/ Polisia Komunitariu Pro-ativu Estabelese bá Komunidade Sanulu Resin Lima

This week 30 PNTL officers and civil society representatives graduated from a “training of trainers” course in community police methodology provided by USAID’s community policing project. The course equipped participants with new skills to establish and manage local community police organizations and collaboratively solve local problems before they lead to crime and conflict. The graduates will begin organizing and training new Community Police Councils in September in 15 villages in five districts.