After seven months in East Timor working with youths, I caught a glimpse of some of the culture and passion of the youth in East Timor. There's always lots to mention. Here's one that inspires me.
Pete, Matt and Andy are 3 close friends from Baucau, the second largest 'city' in East Timor. After completing their diplomas in office skills, they could not find jobs and when they were offered an opportunity to be further trained in computer skills, they snapped it up. So I trained them on how to teach the students in basic computing skills such as MS word, excel, powerpoint and access, classroom management etc etc. What surprised me one day was that I realised they were not receiving anything for their training work, which means that they have to pay for their initial trip to Dili, rent a house/room to live in and pay for all other expenses such as food and transportation on their own. Where did they get their money from(since they are not getting paid)? Why would they want to leave their homes in Baucau to come to Dili for an informal training and work that they are not paid for?
These guys are not lazy as many think Timorese to be. They had big dreams and aspirations. To earn some pocket money, they decided to start a computer repair service in their rented house in Dili. Of cos it wasn't easy as they had no money to buy hardware parts and could only help troubleshoot or reinstall systems & programmes, earning themselves only very little money. Nonetheless, they carry on with it and often come to me for advice in troubleshooting more problematic problems. They had this insatiable hunger to learn more and to experiment and be successful in applying their skills.
Is this the reason why they left their homes and be willing to pay for their considerable expensive stay in Dili? Yes. It is this insatiable hunger for education and for wanting to learn and be successful. Not only for themselves, but for the society and for the country. How do I know? As Pete said, "You know, we do not know what is the future ahead for us. We are not receiving any pay now and we will run out of money soon. If we get nothing out of this training, how are we going to face our families when we go back home?" Needless to say, they borrowed from their families and relatives in order to stay in Dili for that period of time. Their hope was that with the more advanced training that they could received, they could work in the training centre or be given support in their mini business endeavours. Again, Pete looked at me worriedly and said, "I don't know what we're going to do after this." As you might have guess, there was little support. In such a poor nation, I thought it was a wonderful idea for graduates to come back to the centre to be trained as trainers so that they could work as trainers. But it was not to be so. There was no plans for that to happen nor was there any plan to employ(pay) them on a part time basis so as to ease their living expenses.
Is that the fault of the centre? Not exactly. When I looked at how the budget is stretched, it is really difficult to get anything for them. The most I could do was to bring them out for a good meal to thank them for their hard work assisting me in teaching my students. We can give a thousand and one reasons, or worse, a thousand and one criticisms on what could or should be done for East Timor, the youth, the community etc etc but until we understand them as who they really are, things will never get going. Youth like Pete, Matt and Andy are in desperate need of support - unconditional support - i.e. you might get nothing out of supporting them in their studies/work. This is one of the thing we need to understand(if we want to help them). Forget about checking who is more worthwhile to "invest" in. There's no such thing there and there is no need of it. There are enough desperate youth out there who needs your unconditional help.
These 3 young men really amazes me. They are willing to sacrifice their time, their energy and their money to learn; so as to have hope. To go beyond, to fulfill dreams and aspirations, to help their country. We who are in the so-called developed nations sacrifice our time, energy and money to help ourselves(not all) but in general, don't you really think so? I cannot imagine someone who is already poor will sacrifice their whole life(and savings) on education, something which we 'first-world' people will never do or should I say, have the opportunity to do so. Education is such a common thing in our society that it is taken for granted. Someone somewhere else in the world doesn't think so. They are hungry and they will not be satisfied until their lives, society and country changed for the better.
Hey Pete, Matt and Andy, I salute the three of you. It is only now when I looked back at what you said and your passion that I saw the real courage you guys have. Don't stop learning and don't give up your dreams. Live to fulfill it.
Maun Jason
*names of the 3 youth have been changed
