Encouragement House sits within the Timorese village of Maliana, a 4-5 hour drive from the capital Dili.
It’s a boarding home for children whose families live too far from town to send their kids to a local school.
The township also has a single kindergarten class that accommodates childrewn aged under a year up to 8 years old.
When a trio of Australian students volunteered their time to work with the children of Encouragement house, their intent was clear: to develop education programs, life-skill courses and dynamic, creative English-language programs to help foster a sustainable future for the village.
The aim of the project was to engage the local community in a range of life skills, literacy and social enterprise activities. The project was developed following the school’s inaugural community service-based tour to Timor Leste last September.
Following a fundraising campaign in late 2015, Jasmine Cawthorne, Jaimie Butel and Jordan Viaria have been working in the local community with teaching and support staff to develop a curriculum that includes interactive English prgrams, courses in permaculture, cooking, music, health and craft.
In an interview with the Sunshine Coast Daily Jasmine said:
“Our intention was to assist the children at Encouragement House through our interactions, developing curriculum and resources as well as working with teaching and support staff to implement dynamic, creative and interactive English programs.”
As an early financial supporter, Quay Consulting is thrilled with the impact the graduates have already made, particularly seeing the early benefits of the work that is being done to help break the cycle of poverty through education. The project team regularly update supporters through their website and social media.
‘We supported the project because the approach to delivering positive outcomes aligns with our values of making a positive difference in everything we do,’ says Quay Principal, Michael Bolton.
‘This kind of project has a local and a wider community benefit for the people of Maliana, who have taken the opportunity to help their kids grow and prosper. We wish the Encouraging Future team all the best with their efforts.”
For more information about the Encouraging Futures Project, visit their website or follow their work on Facebook.