Spend it Well and Balibo House Trust worked together from to provide Rino Fernandes, a Timorese teacher and trainer, to mentor the teachers at remote schools in the Balibo sub-district between 2020 and 2025.
The annual cost of the program was A$7,600 and was funded by various Rotary clubs.
Rino 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 worked hard to gain the trust and respect of the teachers at the schools he worked with, which allowed him to deliver significant improvements in teaching levels across the schools.
Only one of the schools was in Balibo, the rest were long distances from town and required Rino riding his motorbike on terrible roads and across rivers.
Rino was able to tell us that these remote schools had no balls or other sporting equipment, no classroom posters and very limited stationery, so we provided them with skipping ropes, soccer balls, stationery and posters and other classroom supplies.
Rino was also a vital liaison to help us prioritise school needs, delivery of donated school furniture and school materials throughout the Balibo sub-district generally.
