Programs

Youth Integration and Development Initiative

In October 2006, Ba Futuru commenced work with Edge-ucate.org (an American NGO) and the government of Timor-Leste to build youth centers in Dili as part of the Youth Integration and Development Initiative.

This initiative has led to the creation of a vibrant youth center in Dili in order to serve three key purposes:

•

To actively and positively engage Timor’s largest and most critical demographic, youth, by providing outlets and activities that afford them opportunities to enhance their personal and social development

•

To combine training programs with personal development and self-esteem building activities to prepare youth for integration into the economy

•

To create long-term peace-building mechanisms that keep Timorese youth off the street and engaged in positive activities while processing the negative impacts of conflict

So far one center has been created called the Seroja Center for Peace which is located near the international airport. The Seroja Center for peace was established in Rai Kotu, Comoro, as a positive, self-esteem-enhancing and educational environment. The Seroja Center for peace is part of the Youth Integration and Development Initiative project.

Ba Futuru also runs courses on child protection, human rights, positive discipline, civic education, conflict resolution and peace building through the TAHRE and Positive Discipline curriculums. The majority of courses run for three months after which certificates are provided and a new round of courses begins.

The most exciting outcome of the ongoing activities at the Seroja Center is the positive engagement of children and youth within surrounding communities and the subsequent reduction of violence. Children and youth living in the vicinity now have a safe environment within which they can participate in activities and classes that enhance their daily lives. Moreover, many of the youth who come from communities across Dili to participate in classes at the Seroja Center have found employment due to their study of English, simple seminars on CV creation and interviewing techniques and their development of positive attitudes from the TAHRE program. To provide a better idea of what the students at Seroja Center are getting out of their experiences are four student profiles below.

Student: Bartolomeu Jon “Junito”, Age 12

Junito lives near the center and comes there almost every day.

“The activities that are run at this centre have great benefits to me, because I can say that before I was very bad at painting but now with Mana Any, the teacher, she makes me very happy. I can see that some of my paintings are much better than the ones before even though I just paint on regular paper. One thing that made me very happy was helping the guys from Arte Moris paint the skate park. Another thing was before me and my friends just played football on rocks, but now we play football on cement which is really smooth.”

“I hope that in the future the center can get even better in the areas of: getting more skateboards, basketball, volleyball and basketball because right now we don’t have any basketball hoops and the balls are not very good. I also want to see extra classes added because sometimes the older brothers and sisters [youth] which are in the English classes use all the space inside and we children play or learn outside. I also want in the future to become a painter, a good one, like the guys are at Arte Moris.”

Seroja Student: Natalino Ximenes “Ino”, Age 11

Ino comes to Serjoa Center everyday as he lives in the community just behind the center. When asked what he thinks about his experience at the center he said:

“I have learned a lot from the Ba Futuru staff, like Maun (brother) Vidal, Jo, Helio, and an international woman who worked here, Mana (sister) Marie; they always speak nicely to me and teach me a lot. Sometimes, before, I liked to act up. I threw rocks at the center, put nails in car tires, and I wasn’t scared to disrespect the Manas [women working at Seroja], but now I think that I can forget and get rid of those bad behaviors because I’m starting to learn better the things that they are saying and also that my father says to me.” Ino adds, “For the future I want them to take us on more outings at fun places, bring more skateboards to the centre and have skateboarding tournaments because I really like riding skateboard. And maybe if we could put in some small goals, like for football, we could play the games properly and not fight over who scored a goal.”

Seroja Student: Pascoela da CV.B, Age 17

“My name is Pascoela but people always call me Qella. I have three brothers. I finished senior high school last year and I really wanted to continue my studies at University because I love to learn new things to improve my knowledge and skills. Unfortunately, I didn’t pass the exam so I couldn’t go to University. It made me feel very sad and then I was just staying at home everyday. A neighbor of mine told me about Seroja Center and that she attends an English course there. I decided to go there to see if I could register and join with an English class because I need to improve my English so that I can pass my exam and have a positive future.

The English language is a very important part of our future because it is an international language. It is very difficult for the Timorese to improve their English because they never get to practice as not very many people speak good English, but the Center provides us with a lot of opportunities for practicing with both Timorese and internationals. Also, Seroja Center doesn’t charge their students a fee, so it gives the opportunity to all Timorese children and youth to attend classes and fulfill their dreams. Although the English class was the reason I registered at the Center, I have attended TAHRE class as well which gave me an opportunity to share and discuss my past experiences of conflict times with Ba Futuru’s excellent facilitators. One day I would like to work with an NGO or with the government and I think that the activities at the Seroja Center can help me fulfill my dream. Improving my English will hopefully help me to get a scholarship so that I can go abroad. I have many dreams, but dreams don’t always come true.”

Seroja Student: Filipe de Oliviera, Age 25

“I came to Seroja Center because I wanted to improve my English. Here I have had a lot of opportunities to listen, write and read English with other students and teachers. They have both Timorese and international teachers which I think is important so that I can learn to both speak and write proper English.

When I go home to my house I speak English with my brothers and my sister so that they also can learn. I would like to practice English everyday but it’s difficult because in Bairo Pite, Dili, where I live, there is no one to practice with. I want to study at the University but my family cannot support me financially because we are poor. Before I began going to the Seroja Center I had nothing to do because I didn’t have a job and wasn’t able to go to school. At Seroja I also joined the TAHRE class where I learned about how I can deal with conflicts in a non-violent way. I am very happy at the Seroja Center because it is a safe and beautiful place and it makes me believe in a good future for Timor-Leste. I think the people of Timor-Leste need to get opportunities to be trained in English so that we can go abroad and work and get the knowledge and skills we need to build our nation. My dream is that one day I can teach English for students in Leorema, Liquica, because this is where I come from and where my family lives.”