Our work in Timor-Leste

Kids sharing a joke at a street-side repair workshop in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste (photo © Marcus Perkins/Progressio)

The challenge

We need to do more to help local organisations and community groups work with and for the Timorese people. Building their skills, knowledge and experience means they will be more successful at implementing projects that bring real benefits to local people and communities.

HIV infection rates are low in Timor-Leste – but so is awareness of HIV and AIDS. We can help limit the impact of HIV in Timor-Leste by working with local partners on HIV prevention and awareness-raising.

We need to do more to support women’s groups and promote women’s rights – because women will play a key role in building peace and prosperity in Timor-Leste.

We need to do more to ensure that development in Timor-Leste is environmentally sustainable.

And we need to continue to push for reconciliation and justice and support the democratisation process, to help bring peace and justice to this fractured society.

Read more about our current projects in Timor-Leste.

Our achievements

Progressio has a long history of supporting the people of Timor-Leste, through lobbying and advocacy work calling for the independence of Timor-Leste and speaking out against atrocities committed by the occupying Indonesian forces.

In 2000 we opened an office in Dili and have been working there ever since. Our development workers have:

• helped local partner organisations build a solid platform for carrying out their work through clear operational structures, well-defined roles and responsibilities, and proper strategic planning, backed up by training and capacity-building of staff and board members
• helped partner organisations to run small loan schemes in seven districts, set up a variety of community livelihood projects, and improve access to markets for the resulting produce from local farmers and women’s groups
  supported the mainstreaming of women’s rights and involvement at all levels of government
• increased awareness at the community level of women’s rights and issues affecting women such as rape, domestic violence and discrimination
  brought people of different faiths together to co-operate on development initiatives, including helping to establish the successful National Interfaith Working Group, and linking the group to other dynamic international interfaith networks
• set up a pioneering ‘bio-briquettes’ project that provides a sustainable fuel source and reduces the environmental damage associated with heavy reliance on firewood for cooking and heating

• helped partner organisations to lobby the Timorese parliament to set up a committee to take forward the recommendations of two national truth and reconciliation reports.

From 2002-2006 Progressio led a South-East Asia regional Interfaith and Peacebuilding Project involving capacity building of faith groups around conflict resolution and peacebuilding; international advocacy; developing channels of dialogue between different faith groups (particularly from Timor-Leste, Mindanao and Papua); and research and documentation.