Many school children in Timor-Leste don’t have desks and chairs  This means the children sit on the floor – or are unable to attend school at all.  Australian primary schools upgrade their school furniture, with the original quality furniture, which is still in great condition, going to landfill. Spend it Well and Rotary Donations in Kind in Melbourne work to collect this furniture from Australian schools, ship it to Timor-Leste and deliver it to the schools which need it.

We have put a desk and chair for more than 2,545 children into classrooms in Timor-Leste.  

It costs A$13,000 to send a shipping container holding tables and chairs for 420 children from Australia to Timor-Leste. So for A$30, a Timorese child can be provided with the furniture they so desperately need – instead of that furniture ending up in landfill in Australia.

The need for furniture in Timor-Leste is massive and Rotary Donations in Kind can provide us with a constant flow of used Australian school furniture. We can only send furniture when we have the money for shipping though, so your donation for this purpose, large or small, would make it possible for us to send more furniture.

Children without desks and chairs
The furniture sometimes has a long journey to reach the schools - including by ferry to a remote island
Recycled school furniture being moved into a school built by Spend it Well