Baguia Scholarship Program

Support for Baguia, Timor Leste via Student Scholarships and school furniture

Rotary Hawthorn has been providing money for student scholarships in Baguia, Timor Leste via Friends of Baguia for the past 4 or so years.
 
                      
   
Derarca O'Mahony of Friends of Baguia visited Timor in September 2019. Deraca spoke with Mana Leopoldina (School principal of St Joseph’s in Baguia) regarding the students that Rotary Hawthorn  have supported in 2019.
 
We are very pleased to hear that they are all going well in their studies.
 
Senior High School Scholarships 2019
 
Rotary Hawthorn provided five students with scholarships to St Joseph’s Junior High in Baguia for the three years from 2016 to 2018.
 
It is important to us that we are able to not only fund the first 3 years of Junior Secondary School but also provide enough ongoing funding so our students can complete their secondary school education. So we are pleased to announce that we have continued the support of these students now that they have continued on to Senior High School. In Baguia more than half the students would not be able to attend Senior High.
 
 
Details of the Students
 
 
Laurenco  – is 17 years old. Attends Baguia Senior High School, Class 10. He would like to go to university to study to be a doctor.  
 
Patricio  –is 18years old. Attends Baguia Senior High School, is in Class 10 . His favourite subject is maths and would very much like to be a teacher.
 
Rosita  –is 18 years old and attends Senior High in Comoro, DILI  (completed Junior High at St Josephs) . She enjoys studying English language at school. She can then get high enough marks to get into Medicine and become a doctor.
 
Flavanio  –is 19 years old, attends Tasi Tolu Senior High, DILI
he would like to become a teacher.
 
Martino  – did attend Baguia Senior High School but has now moved to a school at Hera, on the outskirts of Dili.
 
 
Photo: Left to right: Students Lourenco, Patricio and Rosita with teacher Leopoldina Guterres (September 2018).
 
 
     
 
Technical Trade  Scholarships 2019
 
In 2019 we provided a trade scholarship.
 
Americo  is aged 20 years and is studying Automotive Mechanics at Dom Bosco Training College in Dili in 2019.  This is a one year course, and currently, the only way to gain trades skills and qualifications, as Timor has no apprenticeship system and very few skilled tradespeople. 
 
Americio will finish his mechanical course in December and we will then choose another technical applicant to replace him in 2020.
 
 
A container of school desks and equipment for remote school of Hae Coni Primary School
 
 
In 2015, Rotary Hawthorn funded the transport for a container of school desks and equipment for schools in Baguia. The desks and equipment were supplied by Rotary’s Donations in Kind store.

In some mountain school class rooms children still sit on the dirt floor or on shaky bamboo poles. 
 
 
Photo: Desks and chairs being trucked up to Hae Coni Primary School - Project supported by Rotary Club of Hawthorn, with the support of Friends of Baguia