GROUPU FETO FOIN SAE TIMOR LESTE (GFFTL) Young Women Group of Timor Leste
Background Organization :
GFFTL (Grupo Feto Foinsa’e Timor Lorosa’e,
or East Timor Young Women’s Group) originated in 13 October, 1998 as a
student organization to support the independence movement. Initially it was
part of the Konselu SolidaridadeUniversitariu Timor-LesteGFFTL’s
formation was inspired by other groups that engaged specific constituencies so
as to ensure their participation in the independence struggle, such as OPMT (Organizacao Popular da Mulher Timorense or the Popular
Organization of East Timorese Women) and OPJT (Organização
Popular da Juventude Timorense or the Popular Organization of East Timorese Youth).
The founding members of GFFTL saw a need for an organization run by young women
that could work with women in rural areas. GFFTL became an independent NGO in
October 2001. Its main office is in Dili but staff
members are often based in Baucau. This allows the
staff to work more easily in the districts of Baucau,Viqueque and Lautem, where
GFFTL currently focuses its activities. There are seven permanent staff
members, five of whom are allocated specific locations to which they travel
twice a month. GFFTL’s
Vision :
Creating solidarity and maintain woman rights in matters which walk inequitablely
Mission :
Maintaining woman rights through alternative
education programme for society especially for women
so that they can struggle for the change of social which can assign value
separate for women. Thereby women can participate in so many sector.
Struggling to a change of social, culture
transformation, to assist women can participate in all life sectors.
GFFTL decided to make rural women’s basic literacy
and numeracy one of their key program areas for a
number of reasons. GFFTL’s analysis is that
systems of colonialism and patriarchy have combined to severely limit
women’s educational opportunities, particularly for poor women in
subsistence agriculture environments, resulting in high rates of female
illiteracy. The impact of this is not only limited to the educational arena.
GFFTL regards education as necessary for participation in a meaningful
democracy. Literacy and numeracy is regarded as a
basic precondition for women to be able to understand and utilise
their democratic and human rights, as well as to have access to the sources of
information that circulate within the nation.
Since 2000 GFFTL has run its literacy and numeracy program in over fifty sucos
in ten districts (Ermera, Dili,Aileu, Manatuto, Liquiça, Lautem, Ainaro, Bobonaro, Manufahi and Baucau). Typically,
the program would run for at least six months in each location and each class
would have around fifteen participants. Currently the program is concentrated
in Baucau, Viqueque and Lautem districts, in five specific locations where literacy
and numeracy centres have
been established. Two of these centres have been
operating for six months, while the other three have received GFFTL support for
over eighteen months. GFFTL will work with these centres
on an ongoing basis, with a GFFTL staff member working in the community for an
average of six days per month. Their main tasks are to lend support and skills
development to the groups and also to local facilitators. In the centres where GFFTL has run its program for 18 months, around
one third of participants are already able to read materials such as Lafaek Ki’ik magazine
series.
During 2002 - 2004, total 1507 people have participated on this programme, 969 participants is woman. Participants have been received the certificate 938, participants with no certificate 569. On 2005-2007, GFFTL run this programme in district Lospalos, Baucau, Viqueque with total participants 92.
The income generation program is part of the
literacy program which is being carried out in all center,
to help with the needs of families, particularly within these groups.
Objective from this programme :
- To provide experience in
seeking a livelihood in the group or in individual families
- To understand, now to make an income and to
manage the income made by the group.
- To understand, as a group, the
on-going process of managing
money and to establish an income generation mechanism.
- To stand independent as a group
or as individuals to develop themselves or the group.
Social training is a priority area for GFFTL because the
organization feels that many communities located far from Dili
have had insufficient access to clear information and socialization processes
about these particular subject areas. This is turn has limited the realization
of a democratic nation, with communities feeling estranged from the governing
institutions and from socio-political processes emanating from the centre.
GFFTL has run its social training program about gender, human rights, democracy
and domestic violence with women and men across multiple locations in each of
the thirteen districts of Timor-Leste. Around
twenty-five people attend each training session. These workshops run for three
days and GFFTL uses various facilitation techniques, including drama.
Objective of the training
- To improve the capacity of the participants before start
with the Literacy program.
- Deliver information to the participants with several
topics that already by GFFTL such as; human rights, domestic violence,
leadership, public speaking and CEDAW. Social training held in all 13 Districts
with total participants: 1.621 (women's 1.356 and men's 265) ***
Address
Grupo Feto Foinsa’e Timor Lorosa’e (GFFTL)
Tel: (670) 726 1611 (Executive Director Filomena Fuca)
Email: gfftl.dili@gmail.com;
Address: Knua Buka Hatene Centre, Estrada Comoro, Dili