8/4/2019 O NE Family Literacy in Timor-Leste

1/4

project. Oxams approach is to learn to

read, write and count in an everyday

context participants make their own

reading materials based on their own

experiences and with their own words.

We promote a literate environment,

group participation, and womens

empowerment. Family members and

participants who can read help those

who cannot, and the group as a whole is

encouraged to learn by themselves when

Oxam acilitators are not present.

It all happens through making simple

books, with the irst book or each

group usually being A Kau Gala or

My Name Is with a photograph and

sentence about each member. Gradually,

as the project progresses, everybody

Many men and women, in any

country, eel ashamed i they can not

read and write or do simple mathematics,

and their children oten eel ashamed o

them as parents. In Timor-Leste, Oxam

Hong Kong is running a literacy and

numeracy programme with the whole

amily in mind.

Timor-Leste is one the worlds

newest nations, ounded in 2002 ater

a brave ght or independence rom

ndonesia. It is also one o the poorest

countries, with about 42 per cent o its

people living below the poverty line,

and only about 50 per cent o adults

iterate. In the past, Bahasa Indonesia

was used in schools and or oicial

purposes; now the indigenous Tetun

language has become one o the ocial

languages, and people want to learn it

properly. Good mathematics and basic

bookkeeping skills are also desired in an

economy that revolves around buying

and selling in the inormal sector, and

where street markets in villages and

towns act as centres o the community.

The project began with a pilot in Dili

District in 2005, extended to Liquica in

2006, and will next be implemented in

Manatuto. The project works with both

children and adults, but women are the

ocal point, as poverty and illiteracy

rates are high among women and

their status oten very low, both in the

community, and within the amily.

The way o learning is integral to the

Reading the everyday

Summer in Hong Kong a season

o ullness. The sun seems larger. Trees

wider. Peoples minds more open.

Somehow, there is a sense that more

is possible.

Well, this edition o O.N.E is ull o

people who are changing their lives or

the better. Some very realistic dreams

are coming true.

Adult women who had never

picked up a pencil are now writing and

reading. People who never had the

courage and condence to speak up or

themselves are now creating better jobs,

transportation and saer homes. Women

and children who had been bought and

traded are returning home saely. The

government is directing departments

to put the needs o impoverished rural

people as a top concern, so children

are going to school. Peace might nally

seem achievable. Teenagers are traveling

and opening their minds, hearts, and

worlds.

O course, summer can be too hot

and sweaty, just as change can be

dignity. She seems to enjoy her new

skills, smiling as she learns, as i she is

so happy to nally know things that had

been denied to her or more than orty

years. She sits with her back so straight

and tall as i she knows she deserves to

be as aware, and as alive, as possible.

Yes to ullness. Yes to summer.

Madeleine Marie Slavick

Editor, Oxam News E-magazine

Oxam Hong Kong

emagazine@oxam.org.hk

exasperating and demanding. Some

o the newly literate women in Timor-

Leste struggled and struggled along

the way: learning how to hold a pencil

was just the rst o many dicult steps

to literacy. Yet they persevered and

persevered. Cesarina (pictured below)

is one o the women who had never

stepped inside a classroom but who

can now read, write and do simple

bookkeeping.

When I see Cesarina in the photo-

graphs, I see happiness and pride and

ONE Family literacy in Timor-Leste

ONE Space or peace in the Philippines

ONE Ater the tsunami in India

ONE Journeys to Cambodia

ONE Education policy in China

ONE Trafcking in the Mekong

fromTimor-Leste

August2007

8/4/2019 O NE Family Literacy in Timor-Leste

2/4

unwritten local language, should be

represented, and then how it could

be translated into Tetun. For the Nana

pasta Homan pasta, they also had to

agree on the precise steps o basketry.

When content is approved by everyone,

a black and white version is made, a last

check is done, and then the nal colour

one is printed up.

For numeracy, the principle o

the everyday is also ollowed. The

participants learn to recognise numerals,

how to write igures, do simple

bookkeeping and record everyday

business transactions. Dice, card games,

and counting games are useul tools.

It has not been easy or everyone.

Some people orget easily. Others still

struggle with how to hold the pencil.

Adults who had never been to school or

to any kind o adult education class tend

to have the most diculty i they had

been to school, even or only a year o

lessons, they quickly remember things

they had learned. Starting to read and

write late in lie can be especially hard,

and some o the older people struggle

so much and try so hard that there can

be nothing but admiration or the way

they persevere. At the beginning, many

o them only wanted to know how to

sign their name, but the books have

been such an incentive that they want

to do more.

It has been very exciting to watch

the whole process evolve and to see

the pride that participants have taken

in their eorts. Many women say that

learning to read and write is benecial

or themselves as well as or their

children; or with their new skills,

they can be better teachers in the

home. Several other organisations have

become interested in the project, and

Oxam Hong Kong has been oeringadvice, training, and support or the

teaching and learning methods to be

replicated in other places.

Oxam Hong Kong has been supporting projectsin East Timor/Timor-Leste since 1999.

learns to write their name and a ew

simple sentences about themselves.

Other books so ar include amily photo

albums and Nana pasta Homan pasta,

a book on the step-by-step process o

making a woven bag, all the way rom

growing the plant, dyeing, and weaving,

to getting the product to the market.

Photographs are taken or the books,

and captions written in both the local

and national language. Oxam Hong

Kongs team sits with the group, writes

the participants words as the text, and

talks about things like pronunciation,

word ormation, and grammar. The

team also models the writing. It is a lively

process, as the participants discuss how

a word in Tokedede, their previously

Creating space for peacein MindanaoGenela C. Buhia writes rom Davao City in the Philippines

Haunia naranCesarina.

A kau gala Cesarina.

Hauniana

ran

Akaugala

In her late 40s, Cesarina has just learned howto write her name. Her family was so proud ofher achievement that they worked with her tohelp her learn how to read too, and she cannow read independently. The rst time she usedher signature was when she gave a handicraftstraining in another town. Here she is, on thecover photograph, signing the form for her perdiem payment. Photos by Francisco Fernandesand Nico Ximenes of Oxfam Hong Kong.

ONEstory

Peace-building in the Mindanao

context aces immense challenges,

as the problems go back to Spanish

and American colonial times which

involved discrimination o Moros

and ethnic peoples rights to sel-

determination. Some parts o Mindanao

have been mired in deep poverty or

generations, and the ARMM is an area

characterised by the intertwining and

mutually reinorcing issues o poverty

and confict.

The Mindanao history reveals that

peace-building is always more than

the signing o an agreement and

outpouring o aid or roads and houses.

Forging sustainable peace also means

working together to create space to healphysical, historical, social-economic and

psychological wounds. Trust must be

restored. Political and social gaps must

be bridged.

In the summer o 2006, people in

Mindanao were hopeul. There had

been no ull-blown war or 2 years,

and some peace advocates were saying,

We have broken the 3-year cycle o

war! Fighting in 1997, 2000 and 2003

had killed about 120,000 people and

displaced about 2 million, and it seemed

as i the ceasere agreement signed in

2001 between the Government and the

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)

was nally holding. But then, sporadic

gunre between government military

and MILF soldiers in the Autonomous

Region o Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)

dampened the optimism. In the rst

hal o 2007 alone, ghting returned

n January and March between themilitary and MILF, mostly triggered

by clan euds as well as land disputes

between and among some settlers and

Moro groups.

in

the Philippines

Yet, a movement or peace in

Mindanao continues. Some conlict-

prone villages in Central Mindanao have

declared themselves as peace zones, as

spaces to create peace while people

rebuild their lives and livelihoods. Oxam

Hong Kong has supported this eort,

and several other confict mitigation

projects, development initiatives, and

peace dialogues.

One particularly recognised local

group is the Bantay Ceasere o the

Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC) which

has about 500 volunteers in key hotspots

or monitoring, peacekeeping, confict

prevention, mediation and investigative

missions. The MPC engages directly with

the peace panels o the governmentand with the MILF, bringing in the

perspectives o Moro people, Lumad

(non-Muslim indigenous people) and

Christians. Their work is locally and

Mindanao

fromTimor-Leste

internationally regarded. One woman

who volunteers says, We cross rivers by

boat, we ride horses or carabaos just to

talk to the elusive commanders o the

MILF. We climb the hills and jungles to

reach AFP (military) camps, orgetting

the risks and ears.

In March, President Macapagal-

Arroyo declared to step up all measures

or peace and stability and to advance

the talks between the government and

the MILF, and a peace agreement is said

to be in the ong. A recent GRP-MILF

Courtesy of Community Organizing Multiversity Centre and right photographs courtesy of Initiatives for International Dialogue/Mindanao Peoples Caucus

We crossed rivers by boat, we rode horses or carabaos just to talk tothe elusive commanders of the MILF. We climbed the hills and junglesto reach the AFP (military) camps, forgetting the risks and fears,relates Baileng Mantawil, a woman Bantay Ceasere Volunteer.

statement indicates some progress

towards reaching a consensus on the

contentious ancestral domain issue. This

would pave the way or discussions on

other core parts o a comprehensive

peace agreement. Even as another war

is imminent as I write this article, the

people in Mindanao continue to hope

that a genuine peace process will truly

be upheld.

Genela C. Buhia leads Oxam Hong Kongs work inthe Philippines. The agency has been supportingprojects in the country since 1986, with a con-centration in Mindanao since 2004.

8/4/2019 O NE Family Literacy in Timor-Leste

3/4

inIndia

As I relect on my recent trip to

southern India to assess post-tsunami

projects, I particularly remember awoman named Konduru Mangamma, a

woman who has been instrumental in

making her village a better place ater

the tsunami.

Konduru, 30, sells sh and works a s a

armhand in a small 19-amily village in

Andra Pradesh or a living; she supports

her our children through this work.

Even beore the tsunami o December

2004, shing was becoming harder and

harder in Andra Pradesh: the supply o

sh was dwindling, and the cost o diesel

was rising. The catch was oten so small

that Konduru did not have any sh to

sell at the market.

When the tsunami struck, Kondurulost her boat. She told me that to cope,

she requently made porridge, which

stretched the little rice that they could

aord. She used less curry, which was an

unnecessary expense. Her amily oten

ate only one meal a day.

A nearby community group, Rural

Reconstruction Society (RRS), happened

to have visited Kondurus vil lage

just beore the tsunami, and they

immediately raised unds or emergency

relie in the area. With support rom

Oxam Hong Kong, RRS distributed

shing nets and cash or everyone to

repair or build their boats. To ensure

good quality construction, villagers usedsome o the unding to hire a carpenter

to design boats with no engines: this

allowed or shing in both deep and

shallow water.

At the end o 2006, Konduru joined

the womens credit cooperative set up

by the village as part o the RRS-Oxam

project. She applied or a loan o 2,000

Rupees to be able to buy more sh or

resale. All applications were screened

by all members, who appointed a

guarantor, and set the interest at 2

Rupees a month or every 100 Rupees

borrowed. Konduru told me that the

terms are much better than conditions o

normal creditors, who require repayment

in ull and that sh be sold to them at a

price they quote. The plan gives Konduru

enough time to earn money and repay

without these pressures.

Some women also decided to try

other income projects, such as making

incense or a nearby manuacturer. They

attended training by the company while

RRS provided the capital or the initial

production expenses. It takes about

seven hours to prepare one kilogram

work that the women do right in the

village and payment is 250 Rupees per

kilogram. Their rst batch o incense is

now ready to be sold to suppliers.

In a discussion I had with Konduru,

14 other women and 5 men, I was toldthat other than the concrete assistance

o boats and loans and jobs, one o

the real gains people in the village

have achieved rom the RRS projects

has been with their negotiation skills

with authorities and people who hold

power and make decisions. In the past,

they had not been as conident and

as clear with stating their needs, and

rights. Now, they exude a condence.

They told me that their new sense o

strength is mainly due to the act the

committee ormed to implement various

rehabilitation projects has really evolved

into something unctioning more as

a community collective. People have

been empowered by the strength o

collective action.

The changes in Kondurus village

are evident. The community collective

petitioned the government to allocate

land that would be saer when cyclones

come or i another tsunami should

strike again: the village has since been

relocated to that selected site. They

convinced the bus company to resume

regular service in the area (it had

stopped with the tsunami); buses now

go right to the village. They urged the

electricity company to accept the act

that peoples hardship has been so

severe that cash payments have just not

been possible : ees still owed by amiliesrom around the time o the tsunami

have nally been waived.

There is still a lot o work to do to

recover rom the impact o the tsunami

and to address the roots o poverty.

Yet, with the new collective, a new

community bank, new boats, and jobs

that supplement shing and arming,

the uture in Kondurus village looks

dierent rom the past.

Lourdes Lasap works with the Oxam Hong KongHumanitarian and Disaster Risk Managementteam. Based in Hong Kong, she has previouslyworked in Darur, Sudan, and The Philippines.

JourneysWe ask, Chum Ku-ium dei? Do you

remember me?

Tian answers, Chum! I remember!

Tian is a boy we taught last year in

Cambodia. Somehow, seeing his smile,

his hope, his health, was what we had

been yearning or as we returned to his

village o Thnger, this time together with

a group o youth rom Hong Kong.

Our rst journey, in 2006, had beenso enlightening. When the six o us

returned to Hong Kong one month

ater, we had changed. We realized how

much we could oer to society that we

all o us students at the University

o Hong Kong which sponsored the

opportunity to visit Cambodia set up an

organisation named Humanity in Focus

(HIF). With our mission, By the youth,

through the youth, to the youth o the

world, we strive to serve children and

youth in developing countries. We also

run education activities to inspire Hong

Kong youth to care about humanity,

accept their responsibilities in this global

world, and believe that they can make a

dierence. This second trip to Cambodia

was exactly that: inspiration.There were about 200 youth who

wanted to come, but the limit was 12.

This time, HIF had to plan the journey,

and it took months and months to

prepare everything. A thanks goes to

Village Focus International and Oxam

Hong Kong.

On 13 June 2007, we nally arrived.

The youth could nally see another side

o lie. For ve days, they could eel the

simple yet dicult lie o a armer,

and every night when we sat together

to talk, we could sense that they were

maturing, observation by observation.

They put so much eort in designing

the lessons or the children in Thnger.

They taught with all their soul. We knew

that the bonds ormed in just ve dayswere strong; we knew that like us one

year beore, their minds were already

changing.

Next stop was a city slum, another

world never seen by the youth.

Frustration and powerlessness seemed

to be everywhere in the residents

and the participants, too. As we made

in

Cambodia

After the Tsunami:New Community, New Boats,New Bank, New JobsLourdes Lasap writes rom Andra Pradesh

Konduru (far right) with credit cooperative members and their incense. Photos by Julia Kalmirah / Oxfam Hong Kong

home visits, the youth tried to untangle

the social problems that created this

poverty. We could almost hear their

hearts crying. Humanity in Focus truly

believes that it is this compassion that

will keep them ghting or equality and

social justice in the world.

One participant, Tao Meng, said,

Through cloud and rain, we survived.

We learned more about the world,we learned more about ourselves, we

learned more about people just beside

us. I eel so lucky to have met you all. I

loved those days we stayed together,

I simply LOVED it! You are my riends

orever

Text and photographs contributed by Humanityin Focus: www.humanityocus.org/ygcp07/Main/index1.0.htm

8/4/2019 O NE Family Literacy in Timor-Leste

4/4

Batik trainingin at-risk

communities

is so ull o snacks. One night, Tak-wah

eels so sick rom all the junk ood that

he throws up a chocolate monster who

brings him to the land o chocolate: he

sees the real lie o cacao armers. By the

end o A Wonderul Journey, Tak-wah

is asking a lot o questions. Where do

my snacks come rom? Who grows my

ood? To borrow this 10-minute cartoon

(in Chinese), go to http://cyberschool.

oxam.org.hk/eng/resources.php

OXFAM HONG KONG WEBSITEwww.oxfam.org.hk

OXFAM BOOKSOxam Hong Kong has created more

than 30 books, some in Hong Kong, some

in Taiwan, some on the Mainland, some in

Chinese, some in English, some bilingual,

and some mostly with images, which cross

all languages. Through publishing the

voices o poor people around the world,

we want to change the way peo ple think about povert y. We want justice.

Oxam recently supported the publication o (a bookon education in western China, in Simplied Chinese).

To order books: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/bookstore/list?lang=iso-8859-1

E-NEWSIssued every month in English and Chinese, this e- bulletin provides the latest

rom Oxam Hong Kong, with bite-sized news on emergencies, campaigns,

community projects, public education and undraising. Oxam e-News is emailed

to more than 80,000 volunteers, campaigners, donors, Oxam Trailwalkers, council

members and subscribers. The Editor is Echo Chow.

To subscribe: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/16830(English version)

www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/7263(Traditional Chinese)

www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/7265(Simplifed Chinese)

MOKUNGOxam Hong Kong publishes this

quarterly magazine in Traditional Chinese.

Mokung, which means both no poverty

and ininity, highlights a dierent

aspect o development in each issue.

The Editors are Tung Tsz-kwan and Fiona

Shek. The June 2007 issue ocuses onsocial enterprises.

To subscribe: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/

bookstore/?lang=big5

Mokung is online atwww.oxfam.org.hk/

public/contents/category?cid=1017&lang=big5

CANOxam Hong Kong is supporting this

new photo-based magazine in China.

CAN means both look and do in

Chinese, and each 150-page edition (in

Simplied Chinese) examines a dierent

topic. The next edition, in October, will

ocus on workers and their products.

The Chie Editor o the quarterly is the

writer-photographer, Liu Wai Tong. CAN

is available on the mainland and at select

bookshops in Hong Kong.

ONELINKs

What can people do about Climate Change and Poverty?

Please tell us at:

http://forum.oxfam.org.hk/?c_lang=eng

ONEquestIoN

COVER:Ce

sarina,signinghername/OxfamHongKong

17th Floor, 28 Marble Road, Northpoint, Hong Kong

O.N.E, published in the middle o each month, is also online:

www.oxam.org.hk/one//

Hong Kong

When the central governmento China instituted a policy in 2000 to

close many rural schools and improve

the ones closer to towns, Oxam

supported research to assess the

mpact: young children simply could

Tak-wah is called King oSnacks by his classmates. He especially

oves chocolate. At every recess, he is

nibbling on something and throws hal-

ull wrappers in the trash. At dinnertime,

he can almost never nish the good,

homemade ood, because his stomach

not walk such long distances to school,

and the drop-out rate was increasing.

Oxam made policy recommendations,

and in 2006, the Ministry o Education

issued a directive to local governments

to implement the policy according to

students needs. In one impoverished

county o Guizhou, 10 schools due or

closure have remained open, yet over

35 remain closed. Oxam continues to

monitor the situation.

Yang Lan / Oxfam Hong Kong

Human Tracking Program is working

against this injustice. We are supporting

the sae return o people who have been

tracked, as well as vocational training,

social services, emergency aid, research,

advocacy, and awareness-raising among

at-risk groups.

Somewhere between200,000 and 450,000 people are being

sold or traded in the Mekong region

each year mostly women, children and

ethnic minority people being orced or

ured into sex work, debt bondage, and

unpaid labour, usually in urban areas.

This trend in human tracking is

part o the rural to urban migration

trends across the Mekong: villagers are

being drawn to cities by the growing

demand or cheap labour in both the

ormal and inormal workorce.

The Oxam International Anti-