Inside the PALM scheme: An Australia East Timor Association information session

What: Inside the PALM scheme: Voices of Timor-Leste workers

When: Wednesday 20 May, 6-9pm

Where: The Factory, 19 Belgium Ave, Richmond

Guest speakers:

• HE Inȇs Almeida, Timor-Leste Ambassador to Australia
• Carla Chung, Migrant Worker Advocate, ACRATH
• Timor-Leste PALM scheme workers

Light meal provided

Please register your attendance for catering purposes - an optional donation can be made while registering and would be most appreciated to help cover costs, including meals for workers and guest speakers.

https://www.trybooking.com/DLXLJ 

Timor-Leste short films:  A Movie Night fundraiser for Aileu Resource and Training Centre

What: Voices and Memories from Timor-Leste - the screening of:

• Abu Abu (The Mist), by young Timorese Australian Thicia Acquisto (FairTrade Films)
• Other short films from Timor-Leste's Dili Film Works

Q & A with the Abu Abu director, mentor and cast members

When: Friday 19 June, 6:30-8:30pm 

Where: Balam Balam Place, 33 Saxon St, Brunswick

Light refreshments will be provided

Tickets: $20 General Admission / $10 Concession / $50 Family

https://events.humanitix.com/timor-leste-short-films-with-friends-of-aileu

Abu Abu: A magic realist tale: Zé, a young East Timorese refugee living in Australia, overcomes his selective mutism to confront his trauma and reconcile with his mother.

All funds raised will go towards Friends of Aileu support for the work of the Aileu Resource and Training Centre.

Meet Joaninho dos Reis, Program Manager, Aileu Resource and Training Centre, when he visits during August

Joaninho dos Reis will be spending a couple of weeks with us in August, to share stories, successes and learnings from the work of the ARTC, including their education and training programs, and their reforestation, water source protection and Kadalak Dame garden projects.

Joaninho is pictured in the photos to the left, above with ARTC Director Natalia Ximenes and other staff members, and with Kadalak Dame garden produce.

Key event dates during the visit include:

• Friday 7 August, 7-10pm, at the monthly welcome dinner of METAC, the Melbourne East Timorese Activity Centre
• Saturday 15 August, 7-11pm, at Brunswick Town Hall for an evening fundraiser incorporating music, culture and community

More details of these and other activities during the visit to be advised.

Trivia Quiz fundraiser for Aileu Scholarship Program, with Brian Nankervis, Tuesday 27 October:

When: Tuesday 27 October, 7-10pm

Where: Coburg Town Hall

MC: Brian Nankervis

Set aside the date for an evening of fun in support of the Cr Andy Ingham Aileu Scholarship Program.

Brian Nankervis, performer, writer, producer, comedian, and music and trivia guru, returns to once again MC this event.

Brian's engagement of the quiz participants reflects skills honed through a distinguished career, from his early career as a primary school teacher, through a stint as waiter at the legendary Last Laugh, as Raymond J. Bartholemeuz on Hey, Hey, It's Saturday and as a prolific producer and performer of numerous comedy shows, through to his continuing work as co-creator and host of SBS's RocKwiz and co-host of ABC Radio's The Friday Review.

Booking details to come.

Friendship and community development partnerships with Aileu: 25 years and still going strong

The Friends of Aileu Annual Report 2025 is now available on the Friends of Aileu page of the Merri-bek City Council website, under Friends of Aileu News and Events>Friends of Aileu Annual Reports.

Some highlights of 2025 included:

• The joint celebration of 25 years of Australia -Timor-Leste friendship, with Friends of Baucau and Friends of Suai, at Coburg Town Hall in May
• A delegation to Timor-Leste in July, including for the Friendship Conference in Dili and information gathering for the Oral Health Promotion project
• The award, to Friends of Aileu and other friendship groups, of the Medal of the Order of Timor-Leste in August
• A field visit to Timor-Leste in October, by Dr Sandra Frans, Oral Health Promotion Project Coordinator
• A community engagement visit in October, organised jointly with the Friends of Baucau and Future Collective, which included time with friends in Atekru, Atauro Island, and in Aileu, and participating in the 1st International PermaYouth Convergence in Fatuqueru, Ermera.

The Oral Health Promotion project builds momentum

Glenyys and Graham Romanes and friends hosted a successful Giving Circle Dinner at the Brunswick Senior Citizens & Trugo Club on 27 March, raising $5,000 for the Oral Health Promotion project.

Thanks to the organisers and all attendees for their generosity, to Natalie Savin, Dr Sandra Frans and Dr Geoff Knight for their informative updates, and Chico and Xavi for the music (photos to the left and below).

Thanks also to Dr Jamie Robertson and the Footscray Rotary dental project for their separate donation of $4,000.

The Friends of Aileu Oral Health promotion Working Group (last photo to the left below, with from left: Jinal Prajapati, Glenyys Romanes, Natalie Savin, Dr Sandra Frans, Anne Jungwirth, Dr John Rogers, Chico dos Santos, Dr Jamie Roberston and Chris Adams) has continued to meet regularly.

The working group has developed a draft Memorandum of Intent and a Project Plan 2026-2029, which are currently being considered by the Timor-Leste Ministry of Health. 

Good progress is being made, including on:

• Assessing equipment and materials needs of the Aileu municipal dental clinic
• Sourcing Silver Diamine Fluoride supplies
• Reassessing the complementary project and funding proposal which was developed with Maluk Timor for work in the Aileu, Manatuto and Bobonaro, which was commended by the Borrow Foundation, but not funded in the 2026 grant round.

Aileu Municipal Authority, Aileu Friendship Commission and Aileu Municipal Youth Centre)

At left, Mr João Bosco dos Santos, Municipal President, receives a copy of the report on the 2025 Aileu Scholarship Program from Mr Jose Valente Borges da Costa, Secretary of the Aileu Friendship Commission, who is also General Manager of the Municipal Youth Centre and Director of the Technical and Vocational High School (ESTV).

Check out this page of the Aileu municipal portal: Membru Konselhu Munisipal | Autoridade Munisipal Aileu for an introduction to members of the Aileu Municipal Consultative Council and the Aileu Municipal Authority's Coordination Committee.

New Australian Volunteer Program assignment in Aileu

Aileu is entering a pivotal phase in implementing decentralized governance, aligned with the Timor-Leste National
Strategic Development Plan 2011–2030.

Australian Volunteers has responded to a request from the Aileu Municipal Administration for assistance with this transition, recently appointing Sara Virginia Musarra for a 12-month assignment in Aileu.

In this role, Sara will:

• Support the Municipal Authority in preparing the essential structures and systems for decentralization, as part of Timor-Leste's strategic goal to strengthen inclusive local governance.
• Help guide the municipality’s transition toward a model that promotes equitable development, efficient public services, and community empowerment.

Sara moved to Aileu in early May and is making a good start, building relationships and learning more about Aileu.   In her first week, she had already attended three meetings on planning for the 2027 budget process.

Sara will share her experiences with us over the coming months.

Cr Andy Ingham Aileu Scholarship Program

Of the 22 students whose 2025 studies were supported by $11,800 from the Aileu Scholarship Program:

• Six completed a 4-year Bachelor-degree
• Four completed a 3-year Diploma.

At left are photos from the cover page of Friendship Commission report on the 2025 program showing some of the graduates and family members. 

More details can be found in the Friends of Aileu Annual Report 2025 - see above.

Since 2021, the scholarship program has assisted the studies of 44 young people, with some 20 having graduated and subsequently found employment.

For 2026 14 scholarship recipients are continuing their studies and have been joined by 8 new beneficiaries.  These 22 students received the funds for their tuition fees at a meeting of the Aileu Friendship Commission on 12 May (photo to the left).

Teacher Education Scholarships, Hume City Council education donation

Of the eight students whose 2025 studies at the Baucau Teachers College were supported by $4,500 from the annual Hume City Council education donation, two (Aniceto and Agapito) completed 4-year Bachelor of Teaching Degrees.

Pictured at left is Aniceto, collecting his Diploma.  Aniceto is currently studying Portuguese and plans to commence Master of Education studies in 2027.

Pictured at left below with his parents, is Agapito who is currently teaching at the Santa Ursula school in Baucau.

More details can be found in the Friends of Aileu Annual Report 2025 - see above.

Since 2017, the Hume education donation has assisted the studies of 17 young people, with some 12 having graduated and subsequently found employment.

For 2026 5 scholarship recipients are continuing their studies and have been joined by 3 new beneficiaries. 

The first Library Talk for 2026: Culture, Country and Carbon 

Friends of Aileu is building on the successful Library Talks of 2025, with another talk on 23 April at Glenroy Community Hub and Library with Professor Lisa Palmer of Melbourne University.

The following two short films were screened and discussed:

• Lisan: The importance of culture in carbon farming in Timor-Leste
• Culture, Country and Carbon: An exchange across the Timor Sea.

The latter film dealt with an exchange between the Baguia community and their Ho Musin Ida (With One Seed) project, the genesis of the nation-wide Rai Matak (Green Land) project, and a visiting delegation of the First Nation's Jawoyn Association from Australia's Northern Territory.

These and other films dealing with Professor Palmer's work can be viewed at Wai Mata Films — Arkivu Dijitál Kultura no Ekolojia Timor-Leste

Friends of Aileu connecting with our communities

Project Team, other staff and community supporters continue to provide opportunities for community members to find out about Timor-Leste, the Friends of Aileu and the work of our Aileu partners.

On way of doing this is participation in Council festivals and events

So far in 2026, Friends of Aileu has had a presence at three festivals (photos at left, from the top):

• Sydney Road Street Party, 3 March (our marquee is the one on the right in the background in front of Brunswick Town Hall)
• Craigieburn Festival, 21 March (Chico and Lorena, with Hume staff members Mishelle, Francy and Loretta)
• Glenroy Festival, 3 May (which was unfortunately a bit of a washout for us and some stallholders due to wet and windy conditions).

The Give Now platform is managed by the not-for-profit social enterprise Our Community - see ourcommunity.com.au

To discuss future Tax Deductibility opportunities, please contact the Project Officer. 

Make an online donation

You can now support the community development work of our partners in Aileu by donating on-line to Friends of Aileu via the Give Now platform.

Donate via the Donate button to the left, or via: 

• GiveNow - Friends of Aileu - general donation
• GiveNow - Friends of Aileu Oral Health Promotion Project

You can read more about the Wild Timor Coffee story here .

If you're in the vicinity, drop into one of the Wild Timor Coffee Cafes:

•  282 Sydney Road, Coburg
• 134 Elizabeth St, Coburg North
• 251 Faraday St, Carlton

Purchase Wild Timor Coffee

Thanks to the support of Wild Timor Coffee, when you purchase from Friends of Aileu, 100% of our profit ($8:50 per 200 gram pack) goes towards supporting the community development activities of our partners in Aileu, Timor-Leste.

Caffeinate for a good cause with delicious, iconic single-origin Wild Timor Coffee.

From crop to cup, these coffee beans are grown organically under ancient shade trees in the rural village of Belumhato, Aileu, ethically purchased direct from the growers and freshly roasted in Melbourne.

You can purchase freshly roasted whole beans or ground coffee from:

• The Customer Service Counter at the Merri-bek Civic Centre, Coburg
• Chris or Chico of the East Timor Project Team (in Merri-bek's Community Wellbeing Department or Hume's Community Capacity Building Team).

You may contact us by email to order your coffee in advance.

Learn more about the work of the Friends of Aileu and how you can be involved

In the video to the left, Anne Jungwirth, volunteer member of the Friends of Aileu Community Committee, and Chico dos Santos, Friends of Aileu Project Support Officer, share some thoughts on what our friendship relationship with Aileu means to them.

To find out more, including how you can be involved, you may contact the Project Officer.