Spend it Well and Balibo House Trust work together to provide Rino Fernandes, a Timorese teacher and trainer, to mentor the teachers at 4 very remote schools in the Balibo sub-district. There are 9 teachers and 300 children at these schools.
The annual cost of the program is A$7,600 which equates to A$25 per child and is being fully funded by the Tasman Peninsula and Spring Bay Rotary Clubs in Tasmania.
Rino has received training and support under a teacher mentoring program set up by The Australian Government and Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Education based around the country’s excellent Year 1-6 National Curriculum which was developed with assistance from international educators.
Rino has worked hard to gain the trust and respect of the teachers at the 4 schools he works with, which has allowed him to deliver significant improvements in teaching levels across the schools.
Only one of the schools is in Balibo, the rest are long distances from town and require Rino riding his motorbike on terrible roads and across rivers.
Rino has been able to tell us that these schools had no balls or other sporting equipment, no classroom posters and very limited stationery, so in the last year we’ve provided them with skipping ropes, soccer balls, stationery and posters and other classroom supplies. The need is great though and we are working to find more funding so we can send more of these things to the schools Rino mentors.
Rino is also a vital liaison to help us prioritise school needs, delivery of donated school furniture and school materials throughout the Balibo sub-district generally.
