Second from left is Michael Coleman standing next to Jose (right) and other students attending the Uai-Lili Carpentry Centre.
On January 22, Marist Solidarity Timor-Leste projects coordinator, Mr Michael Coleman, visited a newly-established vocational training centre in Uai-Lili—a remote village in the Baucau district in Timor-Leste.
Michael travelled to Timor-Leste last month as part of a five-day monitoring visit to Marist Solidarity project partners, including in-country project manager Brother Tony Clark.
In Uai-Lili, Brother Tony and Michael met with the centre’s founder, Maway, who was featured in our 2015 Australian Marist schools’ campaign.
Maway—a former gang leader— and Brother Tony have been working together for more than four years to establish the computer training centre and carpentry workshop to overcome issues of high unemployment and social problems in Uai-Lili.
Michael says he is very pleased with the positive outcomes the centre has achieved for the local community.
Maway identified an abandoned building and in 2012 he shared his vision to develop a job training centre with Brother Tony and the Chef de Suco, or village chief, of Uai-Lili.
With support from Marists in Timor-Leste and Australia, Maway has transformed his vision into reality, and now two buildings have been suitably refurbished to house the training facilities.
While visiting the new centre at Uai-Lili, Michael and Brother Tony met six of the current students who are training at the centre.
One of the carpentry students, 24-year-old Jose, says that he is “happy to be learning at the centre” but there is still a lot that he wants to learn.
Jose is three weeks into his program. He is learning to use manual and power tools safely and is now looking forward to learning how to install doors and windows.
Maway says, “Once they have finished the introductory period satisfactorily the group moves on to constructing doors and window frames.”
“When we began to provide the door installation and window framing services to the community there were many positive outcomes,” Maway says.
He says that the positive recognition we have received from the local community and its leaders is one of the most important of these outcomes.
There is greater appreciation for the opportunities that job training is providing young people and what young people can now provide for the community in return.
Michael says, “This is one of the great things about this project. It is a local community initiative, led by local young people, for local young people and it is having a very positive effect on the wider community.”
He says, “Our Australian Marist Solidarity team is excited to have supported the development and expansion of this project, from computer training to supporting other needs of young people in the community, over the past three years.
“This would not have been possible without support of our Australian donors, including Marist school communities,” Michael says.
To support the vocational training needs of young people in Timor-Leste visit the web pages Uai-Lili Carpentry Program and Uai-Lili Computer Training to find out more.