Archive for October, 2014
22 October 2014
Did we introduce a new sport to Timor?
Soccer balls are always popular with the boys at the schools, but we wanted to take something that would be great for the girls as well. So I packed 50 long skipping ropes to take with me this trip. Asha (12), Imogen (14) and Isobel (16) pulled them out wherever we were and started skipping. It took no time for the local kids to join in and they loved it. People who have spent a lot of time in Timor say they’ve not seen skipping ropes there before – certainly not in places as remote as Ossoluga. It was great fun for everyone.
      
project: Ossoluga, Seisal
16 October 2014
Ossoluga School Opening – just as fabulous as Seisal
The fabulous Seisal School Opening was a hard act to follow, but the people of Ossoluga turned on a celebration which was incredible in a different way. After a hard hour’s drive on Saturday morning across river beds and up dirt tracks we reached Ossoluga High School on top of a mountain outside Baucau. Ossoluga’s 3 classroom and teacher’s room school building is light and cool and a stark contrast to the old school which was a windowless shack with dirt floors. We have also built toilets (the only ones in the village) complete with hand washing facilities and water tank.
The children from Festau and Macalaco primary schools (which we built in 2010 and 2011) now have a high school to go to and they and their parents walked the hour to Ossoluga for Saturday’s celebrations. The opening was very relaxed and had all of us dancing with the locals. The food the local ladies cooked without ovens or electricity was extraordinary and the desserts even featured a creme caramel the French would be proud of! The 9, 12, 14 and 16 year old girls we had with us were definitely the stars of the show. A great day!
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project: Ossoluga
14 October 2014
Seisal School is Open
After a dusty, but stunning 4 hour drive from Dili, we arrived at Seisal school last Friday morning.
The two new school buildings are spectacular. Our pro-bono architect Richard Briggs has added features like high ceilings, huge windows and large verandah for little cost, but massive impact. Elvino (the builder) has delivered a building that is of fabulous quality and built to last. And then there is the beautiful basketball and volleyball court which everyone adores and was the centre of the opening ceremony. It will act as the heart of village occasions from now on. The community put on an amazing celebration, dances, songs and speeches followed by a painstakingly prepared meal featuring buffalo. It would be the best meal the villagers eat all year. Spend it Well always provides $500 for the ceremonies, but at Seisal another $600 was contributed by the community, the teachers and the parents.
Everyone seemed to understand my speech in basic Tetum (or at least pretended very kindly that they did).
There was no doubt that the 12, 14 and 16 year old girls who came with us were the stars of the show as far as the local kids were concerned. And we think they may have introduced a new sport to Timor-Leste. More to follow on that!
  
   
project: Seisal
07 October 2014
Off to East Timor Today
We have a fabulous weekend ahead with opening ceremonies for Ossoluga High School and Seisal Primary School on Friday and Saturday. My 12 year old daughter Asha and I head off for Timor today along with other donors and some of their children – we have 16, 14 and 9 year old girls coming along as well. The latest photos from Seisal look great although the team in Timor are so happy with the result that they’re holding back the finished photos so that we can see the school in its full glory when we arrive on Friday. The basketball court is finished as well – apparently kids are on it waiting for the first glimmers of light each morning and only leave when it’s too dark to see a thing.
We are taking boxes and boxes of school supplies and heaps of footballs and skipping ropes.
More updates to follow over the next few days.
project: Seisal
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