One year later, East Timor is still digging out.

Christian Children's Fund
Wednesday, 30 August 2000

After East Timor was leveled last September, the kids came home to rubble and chaos. Everything - homes, schools, government buildings, court buildings, police stations, the marketplace, all communication systems - had been destroyed by bands of militia because of East Timor's August 30 vote for independence from Indonesia. That was a year ago, and East Timor is slowly pulling itself out of the rubble. Christian Children's Fund is one of the largest international charitable organizations helping East Timor rebuild through programs like the UN-funded Shelter program. Throughout the day, trucks carrying Shelter housing kits rumble throughout East Timor. They are delivered to East Timorese residents who use the kit's wood, nails, cement, roofing zinc, and tools to frame the very simple structures that will become home. The Shelter project, carried out by international charitable organizations, has provided housing for 35,000 East Timorese families.

A bank has just re-opened in East Timor. This is a major accomplishment in itself. For the past year in the absence of any banking establishments in East Timor, CCF workers and other aid workers have had to physically bring large sums of money into the country in order to finance relief efforts there. In addition to providing emergency aid, CCF has reopened its 13 projects and is in the midst of rebuilding early childhood development centers and programs; re-establishing nutrition and health programs; and rebuilding schools.

Schools are working hard to reopen in October. But most children have not had any formal education for a year since the militia destroyed their schools. For these children, there was nothing to do until CCF opened a UNICEF-funded Child Friendly Space in Dili.

"When the kids first came back to East Timor before the center was opened, they spent a lot of their time at the rubbish dump in Dili, sifting through the rubble left behind by the soldiers. The kids scavenged it daily to get stuff to sell. In addition to trying to get money, it was the only thing to do in Dili until the Child Friendly Space was opened. Now the Child Friendly Space is open and the dump has been moved from Dili. So this is the place to be; it is a safe haven for the children," noted CCF National Director Lola Dos Reis, a Timorese herself.

The first child friendly space was opened in Dili several months ago, and recently was relocated to a permanent facility in the Komoro area of Dili. Two more Child Friendly Spaces, focusing on teaching teens vocational skills such as carpentry and bricklaying, are scheduled to be opened in the central market area of Dili and in Bakora on the outskirts of the city in September. CCF and UNICEF are discussing opening Child Friendly Spaces in the more rural areas of East Timor outside Dili later this year.

The Child Friendly Space is a hub of activity for children from newborn to the age of 18. More than 600 kids are regulars every day. Others drop in with friends. Every morning the Child Friendly Space hosts children from newborn to five years of age. For the newborn to 2-year-olds, there are health clinics, parenting classes for the mothers, early childhood development activities, and medicines donated from CCF. For the 3 to 5-year-olds, there?s a preschool and a light lunch before the kids go home. The afternoons at the Child Friendly Space are for kids, 6 to 18 years of age. For the six to 12-year-olds, activities include sports, tutoring, and writing competitions. Sports are popular with the older kids, 13 to 18 years. And for the teens 16 to 18, there is vocational training as well as some training on the center?s four donated computers. In the evenings, the center hosts health and nutrition sessions for pregnant women.

"For a while several months ago, there was even an increase in violence among the youth, one gang against another in Dili. But the Child Friendly Space has helped that. Until we can get kids back in regular school again, until they have homes to go to, until normal community activities can get started again and jobs are available, it's really the only thing they have to do," added Dos Reis.

For more information, or to contact Christian Children's Fund, see their website at: www.christianchildrensfund.org