Timor Leste

Brothers in Timor Leste

The eastern part of this large island has been part of Indonesia since 1975, after having been a colony of Portugal for 450 years. Timor Leste has been severely affected by the independence struggle in the economic sphere. It is still a country in development.

Since 1988 the Brothers CMM are present in Timor Leste. Initially, the communities were administered by the Indonesian CMM province, but since 2010, Timor Leste has become an independent CMM region. The congregation currently has four communities in Timor Leste: in Dili,  in Gleno, in Suai and in Hera. The regional board is housed at the community in the capital Dili. Currently there are about 30 brothers who are from Timor Leste. Most of them are still in formation. For their religious formation and their professional education, they largely depend on Indonesia and Brazil.

Progress in Timor Leste

In Timor Leste there is a fairly large number of vocations. However, the congregation has hardly any projects of their own. During the past 25 years, the brothers have mostly worked in organizations of others, primarily in education. Because most of these brothers are still in training, the apostolic activities are still few.

 

Education and hostel

Since 2008, the brothers have been running a school in Gleno, Ermera called ESTVC-MM: Catholic Vocational Technical High School ‘Mother of Mercy’. The school is located in an area where there are still few secondary education institutions. Students who attend the school run by the Brothers CMM mostly come from humble families. The School in Gleno offers these young people the opportunity to have a good education.

Besides the school, the brothers also have a hostel for boys and girls who attend the school in Gleno.  Several students from the school have qualified for scholarships to universities in Europe and neighboring countries of Timor Leste. This proves the education at the brothers’ school to be of good quality and good results.

 

Hostel in Suai

School in Gleno