Read about the June 2023 fact-finding trip to Sabu and Kupang here
Learn more about our work by watching our movie
Like Rotary, Pastor Franz is a strong believer that education is the pathway out of poverty. Maria and Tesa are not the only beneficiaries of such support. Here they are pictured with their brother Harrison, who went through the same system and is now a qualified engineer.
There are many others. One is Maria N. Maria N. completed her high school education on Sabu and her nursing degree in Kupang through which she found paid work. She went on to gain -graduate qualifications in midwifery and is now employed as a midwife at a hospital in Sabu’s main town Seba.
How is it possible that these young people were able to attend university in a city hundreds of kilometres by sea from their home?
Staffed, sponsored hostels provide students with a safe environment as their home away from home.
Penfui-Kupang Girls Hostel near completion
The project to provide a new girls’ hostel in Kupang, West Timor has now been brought to practical completion, and with assistance from a district grant furniture and furnishing were provided. The new bunk beds mean the girls no longer have to sleep on mats on the floor!
With the foundations first poured in 2018, and built in stages over several years, with funds from Beaumaris Rotary and generous private donations, the hostel allows up to 120 young women from Sabu to attend university and gain a tertiary education.
Beaumaris Rotary assists with ongoing funding to this and two other hostels to support students at with their daily needs including food and other essentials. To discover the history of our involvement with Sabu see Sabu Island Story.