Faluwai School Project

Faluwai is a small village – about a 30 minute drive outside Balibo on terrible roads. The existing school building was rotting and full of borers, with the risk that the roof would start to fall in very soon. The rooms in which the village's 70 children were being taught were dark, depressing and dangerous. There were no operating toilets.

Faluwai needed a new 3 classrooms, 1 teacher's room building and a block of toilets. A donation to fund the entire US$52,000 cost of this school was received from private donors, members of the Rotary Club Port Melbourne. This donation followed a promise made by the donors to the former Prime Minister and President of Timor Leste Xanana Gusmao to fund a school to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Timor Leste's independence. The building was completed in 2020. Unfortunately, the official school opening wasn't possible because of COVID-19 however we are looking forward to visiting it and seeing the children in their new school very soon.