East Timor. The world's youngest nation. Asia's poorest country. She can be turned around if we care, if we dare believe.

A great place to start is the village. A working model at the village level is the key. When one village gets ticking with new life, it becomes the talk of Timor! Once a village is transformed economically, educationally, medically, socially and spiritually, it becomes a seed of Faith, a symbol of Hope, a signpost of Love! Other villages will see and hunger for that same kind of positive change. 

The Timorese will personally taste and see that the Lord is good! Imagine the ripple effect when Singapore churches start alliancing together to love East Timor. Village by village. In no time, Timor will become the talk of the world!

In July 2001, the government signed an agreement with Australia to jointly exploit the Baya Undan and other Timor Sea petroleum fields. There is much hope from this year onwards, revenue from the oil and gas industry will help to fuel the economy and effectively channelled towards poverty reduction. It is a blessing to the nation to compensate for the possible downturn of the economy caused by the withdrawal of UN forces in April 2006. 

Meanwhile, the country still requires foreign aid from donor countries, NGOs and private organizations in building the infrastructure, health-care, education, etc. The dire needs of this country can be seen from the following selection of key facts about East-Timor.

Poverty incidence in 2001 is estimated at 40%

Food shortage is high from November to February with over two-fifth of the sucos reporting not enough food. The food shortages is link tp the harvest cycle.

Education: 80% of sucos reported that all or almost all children aged 6-10 are in school. 80% of the schools are run by Government and the remaining 20% by the Church. Student to teacher ratio average 52:1

Adult Literacy: 37.4% of the young people aged 15 to 34 years in Ainaro are not able to read and write. The national average is about one quarter.

Health: Over 200 operating health facilities, including more than 100 community health centres and around 60 health posts. Access to health facilities remains a potential problem. Immunization rates for children are very low. Only 17% of children 1-2yrs are vaccinated against measles and only 7% received three shots of DPT. More than one fifth of the population reported a health problem including 2.5% with malaria.

Electricity & Water: Only about one fifth of all aldeias (hamlets) are electrified in contrast to 30% prior to the violence in 1999. About three quarter of the population live without electricity. One third of the aldeias reported the main source of drinking water is piped or pump in a public place. Only 7% reported water piped directly to their house. Over half of the population rely on unsafe sources for drinking water.

Violence of 1999: Many households lost their main economic assets - housing and livestock. Worst affected areas are the districts of: Bobonaro, Cova Lima, Manatuto, Oecussi and Liquica.

Social Needs: Orphans and widows suffer at the bottom of an already poverty-stricken social ladder.  Though extended families provide assistance, the families themselves are often destitute. Disabled persons are not only more prone to poverty but experience difficulty in merely surviving. According to the National Census 2004, 1 in 6 households in East Timor have one or more members with a disability, mostly physical disabilities.

While the needs are great, there is an unmistakeable sense of God's timing for the church in Singapore to bless East Timor.  More specifically, EFC Singapore will fulfil our role in anchoring the district of Ainaro and working with other churches to reach East Timor with the gospel of Christ.

Since the 1999 atrocities, foreign aid has begun pouring into East Timor. The new government which took over control from UN transitional authority in May 2002, has made progress in key areas of public services in the areas of education, power supply and the judiciary. However, much has still to be done to repair the infrastructure, improve health care and agriculture.