All at Across the Timor Sea are anticipating very important news from Timor Lesté.

• Fernanda’s Final Year Graduation from St Francis of Assisi is soon; and she is planning to continue her tertiary education at Dili University. (Competition at Dili University is intense, because there is only one University in Dili; and there is a large number of students wanting entrance.)
• Jonia is expected to complete her final year of Nursing; and Graduate with her Nursing Degree. (News of her progress will be exciting for Across the Timor Sea as she is she was in the first group of Across the Timor Sea scholarship students to Graduate from St Francis of Assisi School a few years ago.)
• Domangas will be entering her final year at University in 2023, so we anticipate news of her progress.
• We are absolutely delighted with News that Oscar has completed his Korean Language Studies; and very much look forward to news of his progress.

11^th November is Remembrance Day in Australia.

 Each year, on the 11^th hour, of the 11 Day, of the 11^th month, we observe one minute of silence, to remember those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts.

On 11 November, at 11.00am, we will pause to remember all of the men and women of the Australian Defence Force who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Lest we forget.

~ Across the Timor Sea

All at Across the Timor Sea have been very concerned about news of Oscars progress, as we had not been able to learn about how he is going. (Oscar is one of Across the Timor Sea’s former scholarship students at St Francis of Assisi school.)

We were all pleased to find out that Oscar has been in Dili for 2022, studying Korean.

For quite a while, we have understood that Oscar had planned to enter the Diplomatic Corps, so studying a new language would be a great advantage.  

We are so pleased with this information, because Across the Timor Sea was established to support education in Timor Lestè; and learning Korean will be helpful to Oscar in whatever direction his future takes him.

For Across the Timor Sea, there have always been challenges with sourcing transport of goods and parcels to Timor Lestè, however with COVID complications (and Monsoonal flooding etc.) it has been overwhelming.

When the last container delivery happened, just as the COVID disasters hit, there were so many problems and delays.

An outcome of this was that the usual delivery choices for Across the Timor Sea had ceased to be an option.

Goods collected have been building up, so when Jan reconnected with a fellow Rotarian that was sending a container to Timor Lestè; and was willing to allocate space for Across the Timor Sea to use, it was an overwhelming relief.

All at Across the Timor Sea are extremely thankful.

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

~ Across the Timor Sea

Over the years, all at Across the Timor Sea have been very impressed with how local Timor Lestè residents get together to build or repair buildings and various infrastructure; which will be very important with the extent of storm damage this year.

All this has been complicated by the COVID lock-down restrictions.

So when we received this photo of workers painting a classroom, we were delighted that it is so close to being used. We sincerely hope it wasn’t damaged during the monsoon storms and floods.

As supporting education has always been a priority for Across the Timor Sea, it is always pleasing for us to get updates regarding sponsored Students.

Especially since they have been dealing with so many hardships and challenges for many, many months. Not only COVID 19, but terrible monsoon and flood damage.

Jan was unable to travel to Timor Lestè in 2020 to update progress on Across the Timor Sea projects, and catch up with the many friends she has made there; and it looks like this year is going to be the same.

We so admire how people in Timor Lestè are managing; and especially so, after hearing about the progress of the 2019 Across the Timor Sea Graduating Students. They are a beaming example for other students.

We wish Oscar every success in his upcoming final exams; and hope that he is able continue with tertiary studies in Dili. (As have Jonia and Domingas.)

We also hope that Tim will be there to mentor these students.  His guidance has really made a difference, and is so appreciated by us all at Across the Timor Sea.